Photos for Headline Surfer / Off-duty Edgewater police officer David Jewell was shot and killed on Monday, Sept. 15. 2026, at the Circle K gas station in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Florida. He was shot and killed there by a clerk, Eduardo Labrada Machado.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
EDGEWATER, Fla. -- Today marks one year since the Edgewater Police Department lost one of its own: Officer David Jewell: a husband, a father, a friend, was gunned down in cold blood while off duty and buying a hot dog at the Circle K gas station in Ormond-by-the-Sea.
This year, a wife had to learn how to navigate life without her husband. A son had to learn how to grow up without his father by his side. A family had to begin putting the pieces back together without the man who held so much of their world together.
Their loss did not end when the tributes quieted. It has been felt in everyday moments, family milestones, and all the times they wished he were there.
"Yet, even through the heartbreak, there have been moments of light," Edgewater Police Chief Charles "Chas" Geiger said stoically.
"Thousands came to see David’s true character, the kindness, compassion, and love that made him so much more than the badge he wore," Geiger said on the one-year anniversary of the gruesome slaying. "Those moments do not lessen the loss, but they remind us how much one life can mean. Even in his absence, David continues to bring unity, love, and strength to the people he touched.
"Yet, even through the heartbreak, there have been moments of light," Edgewater Police Chief Charles "Chas" Geiger said stoically.
"Thousands came to see David’s true character, the kindness, compassion, and love that made him so much more than the badge he wore," Geiger said on the one-year anniversary of the gruesome slaying. "Those moments do not lessen the loss, but they remind us how much one life can mean. Even in his absence, David continues to bring unity, love, and strength to the people he touched.
"David, this year without you has been difficult, Geiger said. "This year honoring you has been inspiring." Geiger added: "Rest easy, friend. You are loved, you are missed, and you are never forgotten."
At EPD, the sworn personnel honor David Jewell through their service to the community he loved. They carry his example into every opportunity to treat someone with dignity, offer empathy, and lead with compassion, just as he did.
"David, this year without you has been difficult, Geiger continued as if speaking to Jewell through his spirit. "This year honoring you has been inspiring."
Geiger added: "Rest easy, friend. You are loved, you are missed, and you are never forgotten."
The shooting was reported around 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, at the Circle K gas station near Ocean Shore Boulevard and Wisteria Drive in Ormond-by-the-Sea, in the tiny seashore hamlet where Jewell lived with his family.
Jewell, off duty, entered the store to buy a hot dog and proceeded to the register to pay.
Eduardo Machado, a clerk employed at the Circle K who knew Jewell and was aware he was a police officer, walked out of the convenience momentarily just as Jewell was entering
Machado retrieved a jacket from a white Kia before returning inside. He then approached Jewell from behind and fired .
When Jewell fell to the ground, Machado's gun jammed. After clearing the weapon, he fired several more shots at the fallen officer. Responding Volusia sheriff's deputies estimated that two dozen shots were fired in total.
Following the shooting, Machado changed his shirt and placed the jacket back into the white Kia. Another clerk at the store, who had been in the bathroom during the incident, exited and began walking away from the store with Machado, but the gunman was taken into custody at the scene.
Machado's stated reason to law enforcement investigators as to why he gunned down Jewell was right to the point: Senseless and yet chilling: "I was having a bad day."
Photo for Headline Surfer / Eduardo Machado is shown at a preliminary court hearing at the Justice Center in Daytona Beach over the summer to answer murder chjarges in the alleged killing of off-duty Edgewater cop David Jewell at a convenience store in Ormond-by-the Sea, Florida on Sept. 15, 2025.
Eduardo Machado's stated reason to law enforcement investigators as to why he gunned down Jewell was right to the point: Senseless and yet so chilling: "I was having a bad day."
David Jewell joined the Edgewater Police Department in 2023 and had previously worked for nearly 20 years in the communications unit for the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. That day, he stopped at a Circle K to purchase a hot dog but instead became the victim of what Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood described as “an out-and-out assassination.”
The bloodshed serves as a sobering reminder that officer safety extends far beyond the boundaries of formal duty. Even off-duty, officers face unpredictable risks that demand heightened awareness, thoughtful policy reform, and comprehensive departmental support.
The shooting was reported around 4 p.m. on Monday at the Circle K gas station near Ocean Shore Boulevard and Wisteria Drive in Ormond-by-the-Sea.
Officer Jewell entered the store to buy a hot dog and proceeded to the register to pay. Eduardo Machado, a clerk employed at the Circle K who knew Jewell and was aware he was a police officer, exited the store as Jewell entered. Machado retrieved a jacket from a white Kia before returning inside.
The gunman then approached Jewell from behind and fired several shots at him. When Jewell fell to the ground, Machado's gun jammed. After clearing the weapon, he fired several more shots at the fallen officer.
Following the shooting, Machado changed his shirt and placed the jacket back into the white Kia. Another clerk at the store, who had been in the bathroom during the incident, exited and began walking away from the store with Machado. The suspect was taken into custody at the scene.
The surveillance video clearly showed this was not a crime of passion or circumstantial escalation, but rather a premeditated attack, law enforcement officials have said.
Officer David Jewell joined the Edgewater Police Department after serving as a telecommunicator with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. He was recognized as the “Telecommunicator of the Quarter” in 2020 for his calm professionalism during a critical incident involving two severely injured young patients.
Then-Acting Police Chief Charles Geiger said of Jewell shortly after his killing: “He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.”
Jewell's death serves as a sobering reminder that danger can strike at any time, and that it is not limited to high-risk calls or tactical operations. Without proper support, awareness, and investment in officer safety across all contexts of their lives, law enforcement personnel remain vulnerable, whether on or off the clock.
Supporting law enforcement must extend beyond tactical training and on-duty protocols. We need stronger safety standards and initiatives that protect our officers, alongside comprehensive wellness programs that provide physical protection and mental health resources alike.
Eduardo Labrada Machado took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty in the slaying of Edgewater cop David Jewell. He was sentenced in May to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Here's a remembrance from a friend of Jewell's two days after he was killed in cold blood:
"On Monday afternoon, off-duty Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell picked up his father-in-law from the hospital and was driving him home" Jonny Castro Art wrote on his Facebook page. "David decided to stop off at a gas station nearby his house in Ormond-by-the-Sea, Florida, to get his father something to eat. Once he entered the store, one of the employees walked outside to his own vehicle, retrieved a gun and went back in. It was a firearm that he just picked up from the gun store two hours earlier."
Headline Surfer the lone Central Florida media outlet with coverage of today's 1-year anniversary of the slaying of off-duty Edgewater cop David Jewell
Headline Surfer filed this exclusive one-year anniversary retrospective early this morning, which was trending in Google News. Central Florida, home to two daily newspapers, The Orlando Sentinel and the Daytona Beach News-Journal, had nothing.
Orlando's TV news stations - WESH Ch. 2, WKMG Ch 6, WFTV Ch. 9. WOFL Ch 35, and Spectrum Cable News 13 - had nothing as well.
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