One Arrested In Indiana Avenue Shooting

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DeLand, FL - Detectives are trying to get to the bottom of a situation where a man was shot in the neck in DeLand.

DeLand police were dispatched to a house off Rich Avenue close to five o'clock last night (March 7th) in reference to someone being shot.

When police arrived they found a victim bleeding from the neck after supposedly being grazed by a bullet.

Police met with the victim's stepfather, who told them that he was shot by another "kid" in the neighborhood. According to his narrative, he finished repairing a moped for his stepson and gave it to him so he could test drive it.

Around seven minutes later, his stepson ran back holding his neck as he bled. The stepfather took his jacket off and told his stepson to apply pressure to the wound while he calls the police.

A detective who arrived on scene asked the stepfather if the victim had any firearms in his possession, he replied that he didn't but he had two firearms in the house, one .22 rifle and one 9mm handgun.

The stepfather says he was told by the victim that he was shot by a 15-year-old male.

The detective then called the victim's mother, who told him that her son had been having trouble with people around the neighborhood, which led her to buy a handgun.

The gunshot victim was then airlifted to Halifax Health.

Two hours later, another detective responded to the location of the shooting, which took place off of East Indiana Avenue.

There, the detective met with a resident who saw part of the incident.

The resident told police that he watched a male on a scooter, later identified as the gunshot victim, turn onto Indiana as he was followed by a gray Chevy Trailblazer.

He watched as the victim and the SUV pulled over to the side of the road. That's when three subjects emerged from the vehicle and began to kick and punch the victim.

The beating continued until the victim pulled out a firearm and pointed it at the three subjects. That's when he said they started to walk back to their vehicle when he heard gunshots begin to ring out. When the shooting began, the resident ducked behind an oak tree on his property for safety.

When the shots stopped, he watched the victim flee on foot on Indiana as the vehicle sped off North on Adams Street.

Out on Pennsylvania and Frankforth, another detective detained three subjects who were discovered to be in the Trailblazer the time of the shooting.

The three subjects were males, ages 15, 17 and 18.

The 17-year-old male explained to the detective that he borrowed the vehicle from a friend in order to pickup the other two. He told the detective that they drove to Deltona and were there between 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

But, the 18-year-old said they went to Deltona for lunch, and the 15-year-old said he was in school all day.

The detective began to question the 15-year-old and told him that "your boys said you were in Deltona all day." The 15-year-old then changed his story and said he didn't go to school and instead went to Deltona.

According to the police report, the detective told the 15-year-old that someone they knew, the victim, was in the hospital and told police that he tried to kill him

The 15-year-old began to ask the detective over and over again what the victim told police. The detective urged him not to worry about it and tell him what really happened.

Eventually, the 15-year-old told police that they saw the victim at a gas station off of Boston and New York. He said the 17-year-old was driving and began to follow the victim as he rode away.

When the three confronted the victim, they put their fists up to challenge the victim to fight.

He said that as he moved towards the victim, he pulled out a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at his chest. The 15-year-old said he could see the victim holding a gun. He said that he was scared for his life and ran back into the vehicle as a shot was fired.

Later on, police eventually made contact with the victim at the hospital, who said the following.

Around 30 minutes before the police were called, he was at a Sunoco gas station off of Boston and State Road 44. There is where he said "they," referring to the three other males, showed up and said "what's up?"

He said he rode off onto State Road 44 and eventually onto Adams Street, with the Trailblazer riding next to him as if it wanted to catch up with him.

After turning onto Indiana, he stopped his bike and set it down in the grass, watching as the Trailblazer came down the street in the opposite direction.

When the vehicle stopped, he watched the three males step out, including the 15-year-old he claimed he was shot by.

The three began to approach him and were wanting to instigate a fight. He said instead of fighting he ran off. After running off, the three got back into the Trailblazer.

He said that while running, he stopped to look back and check on his moped. But, when he stopped he heard a shot and felt something hit his neck, but he didn't see anyone shoot him.

When speaking about his injuries, the victim said that he knows the 15-year-old has a .22 pistol, saying he saw it in an Instagram video.

According to jail records, only one of the males was arrested and charged in relation to the incident, that male being 18-year-old Nickolas Brown, who was charged with principal to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

He's currently in custody at Volusia County Jail on $10,000 bond.