**Updated to reflect increased reward to $20k.**
OCALA, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE 1/5/2024: The Ocala Police Department (OPD) says they have increased the award by $5,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the man wanted in connection to the Paddock Mall shooting.
Ocala Police are now offering a total of $20,000 for any information that helps track down Albert J. Shell Jr.
UPDATE 12/29/2023: The Ocala Police Department (OPD) is hoping more money will incentivize someone to provide a tip that will lead them to locate the man wanted in connection with the deadly shooting at Paddock Mall.
Police are now offering $15,000 to anyone who provides information that will lead to the arrest of Albert Shell Jr.
UPDATE 12/26: The Ocala Police Department (OPD) has doubled the reward for information leading to the arrest of the man wanted in connection with the shooting at Paddock Mall.
Police are now offering $10,000 to anyone who provides information that helps police track him down.
If you know his location, police ask you to call them at 352-656-6137.
Meantime, police are also still looking for the person who removed a key piece of evidence from the crime scene. They released images of a man who they say took the hat that the shooter was wearing. There’s a $3,000 reward on the line for information in that aspect of the case. Police say the hat could provide valuable DNA evidence. Police say whoever took it now faces felony tampering with evidence charges.
|RELATED: Ocala police release images of person they say swiped mall shooter’s hat from crime scene
PREVIOUSLY 12/25: The Ocala Police Department has identified the man wanted in connection with the deadly shooting at Paddock Mall.
Police say 39-year-old Albert J. Shell Jr. is the person who shot and killed 40-year-old David Nathaniel Barron.
OPD says they’ve issued a warrant for Shell’s arrest on charges of premeditated first-degree murder and attempted premeditated first-degree murder.
|RELATED: Ocala police plead for the return of important piece of evidence, threaten arrest if not turned over
They say Shell is the man who opened fire, shooting multiple times in the crowded court outside Macy’s department store on Saturday.
In addition to Barron, police say the gunfire hit a woman in the leg. She is expected to survive her injuries.
The shooting injured countless others who scrambled to find safety in the midst of the shooting and scared many more who were there for Christmas shopping and other holiday activities like visiting Santa.
Police say if you call and tell them where Shell is and it leads to his arrest, they’ll pay you $5,000. Call 352-656-6137.
You can also submit a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Marion County by calling 352-368-STOP (7867) or dial **TIPS on your cell phone. Tips can also be submitted online here.
A check of Marion County’s jail log shows Shell has been booked into the jail 19 times since 2002. The jail log shows his most recent arrest was in September on among other things a felony domestic battery charge.
Other charges over the years include:
- burglary
- grand theft
- kidnap
- robbery
- child neglect
- fleeing/eluding police at high speed
- drug possession
- probation violations
A further review of the Marion County Court records shows convictions with prison sentences but also cases where the charges were dropped.