MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office announced Friday that it intends to seek the death penalty against Albert J. Shell Jr., the man accused of first-degree murder in last year’s deadly shooting at the Paddock Mall in Ocala.
Occurring just days before Christmas, the shooting injured a woman and killed David Nathaniel Barron, 40. A witness at the scene told News 6 that “chaos erupted” when shots were fired in the busy mall, describing how a store employee opened a back door to help people escape.
Ocala police believe Shell targeted Barron, reportedly chasing him as the 40-year-old at one point tried to fight Shell off and was later found shot to death in a common area.
“We know the victim had a prior relationship with Mr. Shell,” Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said during a news conference in January. “I don’t want to really go into details about the motives now in this case, but I know reasonably that this wasn’t anything other than a beef between two individuals that was resolved in a mall with a gun.”
Shell, 39, was arrested Jan. 8 after about two weeks on the run. He was indicted last week by a grand jury on charges of first-degree murder with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, according to the office of State Attorney William “Bill” Gladson.
The office’s decision to seek the death penalty against Shell, it said, is reflective of the gravity of Shell’s alleged offenses and their impact on victims and their families.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: