Prosecutors in Florida are pursuing the death penalty for Albert J. Shell Jr., accused of a fatal shooting in a crowded mall before Christmas, impacting the community deeply, according to a report by Law&Crime, which was confirmed by the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in a Facebook post.
Florida prosecutors announced their intention to seek the death penalty for Albert J. Shell Jr., 39, following a grand jury indictment on charges stemming from a deadly shooting at the Paddock Mall in Ocala.
The incident, which transpired shortly before 4:00 p.m. just before Christmas Eve on December 23, 2023, left one man dead and a woman seriously injured amidst last-minute holiday shopping chaos.
Shell faces one count of first-degree murder with a firearm in the killing of 40-year-old David Nathaniel Brown, along with two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The Office of the State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit filed a notice of intent to seek capital punishment, emphasizing the severity of the crime and its repercussions.