Yesterday's Daytona Beach Shooter Turns Himself In

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Daytona Beach, FL - The suspect in a shooting in Daytona Beach yesterday (July 9) is in the Volusia County Jail after turning himself in at his attorney's office. Twenty-six-year-old Donovan Ruiter is accused of shooting the victim at least twice, injuring him in the lower chest and on one of his legs. Daytona Beach Police say the injuries are not life-threatening.

The shooting took place near a residence located at 109 Claire Terrace around 2 p.m. DBPD arrived to find the victim laying on his back near the street. The victim was able to tell officers that he got a phone call from an acquaintance he only knew as Donovan, who asked him to step outside. He did. The victim and Donovan got into an argument which resulted in the suspect pulling a gun and shooting the victim. Officers found several .40 caliber shell casings in the street near where the victim was found.

The incident report states that the victim told officers that the last number on his phone was the call from Donovan. A check of the number on law enforcement databases revealed that the number belonged to Donovan Ruiter.

There were three witnesses to the shooting. They'd been sitting inside the residence at the kitchen table while the victim was on the living room couch. They heard him speaking loudly on the phone then heard the front door slam open. They stepped outside to see the victim arguing with Donovan. The witnesses say that Donovan is involved with the victim's ex-girlfriend and was yelling at him about talking bad about the woman.

The witnesses told officers that Donovan was holding a white towel over in his hand in a weird way and that it looked like there was a firearm underneath it. They heard several gunshots and all dove for the ground. One witness pulled his own firearm, getting off one shot at Donovan before his weapon jammed. The witnesses say when the shooting was over, the victim was on his back and Donovan was getting into his car.

The three witnesses statements were consistent and all said they wanted to press charges. They all knew Donovan but not his last name. A friend located Donovan on social media and sent the photo to one of the witnesses.

Ruiter turned himself in at Attorney Aaron Delgado's office and taken into custody without incident. Delgado told police where they could find Ruiter's car, which was towed to DBPD headquarters where it was sealed awaitng a search warrant. The incident report states  that there was a single bullet hole on the trunk of the car. Ruiter is being held without bond on one charge of Aggravated Battery Causing Bodily Harm and three counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon without Intent to Kill.

Daytona Beach, shooting, DBPD