Update: 2 Arrested In DeLand Shooting Incidents; 1 Injured

Date Added: August 06, 2023 9:22 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING DELAND SHOOTING INCIDENTS; 1 INJURED

Volusia sheriff’s detectives are investigating a pair of shooting incidents in the same area of DeLand this weekend, with one person injured.

The first shooting was reported Friday night after the 17-year-old male victim showed up at the hospital around 11:50 p.m. with a non-life-threatening injury from a gunshot wound. It was determined the shooting happened on South Brooks Avenue, but few other details were able to be gathered through interviews.

The second shooting incident was reported just after 1 a.m. Sunday, also on South Brooks Avenue. No one was injured in the shooting, but a house and car were hit by bullets.

The investigations into both incidents are active, and it’s unconfirmed whether they are connected. Anyone with information about either case can contact the Sheriff’s Office at 386-248-1777 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida at 888-277-TIPS or via the P3 Tips app.

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Update (8/14/23): The 17-year-old suspect in a shooting that injured another teenager earlier this month has been taken into custody, along with his girlfriend, who’s charged as an accessory.

Tyler Lopez (DOB 12/22/2005) turned himself in this morning at the Volusia Sheriff’s Office district headquarters in DeLand. He is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the Aug. 4 shooting on South Brooks Avenue.

The investigation was met with very limited cooperation from the victim, but detectives determined the shooting stemmed from a conflict over Instagram posts that revived a longstanding feud.

Lopez’s girlfriend Tazaria Carter (DOB 9/1/2005) was arrested last week on her accessory charge after detectives determined she was present for the shooting, drove Lopez away from the scene, had contact with him afterward and tried to conceal details during the investigation.

Lopez will be transported to the Volusia Family Resource Center for processing and then to the Department of Juvenile Justice, where Carter is still in custody today.

The second shooting, which damaged a house and car on South Brooks Avenue, remains under investigation.