OCALA, Fla. – Images shared Sunday by the Ocala Police Department
show who investigators say is the suspect in a shooting at the
Paddock Mall that left a man dead and a woman injured the day prior.
https://a57.foxnews.com/cf-images.us-east-
1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/694940094001/192d9267-2e80-4cb4-8398-
11f797edca23/ed2c65e5-fcf5-4949-85c6-
371d68e7392e/1280x720/match/1200/675/image.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Initially described as an “active shooter situation,” officers who
responded to the mall around 3:40 p.m. Saturday found that while
there was no active shooter, a shooting did still occur inside of
the building, according to a news release. A man who was found shot
to death in a common area has since been identified by police as
David Nathaniel Barron, 40, and the woman who was shot was taken to
a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the
release states.
Cicely Robertson said Barron was her tattoo artist. She said friends
called him, “Dirty.”
“Dirty was a nice person,” Robertson said. “He was loving, giving.
He’d give you the shirt of his back. He always motivated you to do
the right thing, always inspire you, take care of you, you know,
somebody you could go and talk to.”
Police said that the shooter ran away, adding investigators believe
the incident may have been targeted.
The Ocala Police Department extends our deepest condolences to the
families of the victims and we are committed to bringing the
perpetrator to justice.
Dec. 23, 2023 | Police Identify Victim of Paddock Mall Shooting
(excerpt)
The department said in a statement Sunday afternoon that it had
secured an arrest warrant for Albert J. Shell Jr., 39, regarding
premeditated first-degree murder and attempted premeditated first-
degree murder in the shooting. With this update came what appear to
be two of Shell’s past mugshots, viewable at the top of this story.
Robertson said Barron was a father.
“It’s just sad that these kids have to go Christmas without their
father,” she said.
Occurring two days before Christmas, a busy time for holiday
shopping, “chaos erupted” at the mall when shots were fired; that’s
what we heard from Syriah Williams, a witness at the scene who spoke
with News 6 and recorded video on her cellphone after the shooting
began.
Williams said that Bath & Body Works employees opened a back door to
help people escape.
The mall was evacuated and closed as investigators worked the scene
Saturday night, eventually opening the parking lots back up to allow
people to retrieve their vehicles while businesses remained
shuttered. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Ocala Fire Rescue,
Marion County Fire Rescue and Florida Highway Patrol also responded
to the shooting, according to the release.
In a social media post Sunday, Ocala police demanded that “the
person who took the shooter’s red hat” come forward with the piece
of clothing immediately. The department released the individual’s
picture saying in part, “this person tampered with crucial evidence
by taking the shooter’s red hat from the crime scene at the Paddock
Mall. That hat may contain valuable DNA evidence.”
CAN YOU IDENTIFY? This person tampered with crucial evidence by
taking the shooter's red hat from the crime scene at the Paddock
Mall. That hat may contain valuable DNA evidence.
pic.twitter.com/v0QlRuVGLH
— Ocala Police (@ocalapd) December 25, 2023
This followed how the department shared surveillance stills early
Sunday showing a man in a red hat, describing the man as a person of
interest in the shooting.
Ocala police urge anyone who knows of Shell’s whereabouts to call
352-369-7000 or Crime Stoppers at
352-368-7867/**TIPS to remain
anonymous. Additionally, anyone who recorded cellphone video at the
scene is encouraged to send the footage to
mediare...@ocalapd.org or
352-656-6137.
If you call OPD and tell us where he is and it leads to his arrest,
we will pay you $5,000! Call
352-656-6137. Please, do not call that
number for any other matter.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/12/24/victim-idd-
person-of-interest-revealed-after-deadly-shooting-at-mall-in-ocala/