27-05-2025
Video depicts man outside McCabe's Bar shooting at man and missing from 3 feet away
Two shootings less than a month apart at McCabe's Bar near downtown DeLand has put the establishment in violation of its lease and it will have to change hours of operation, said police Chief Jason Umberger.
Umberger made the statement Tuesday morning during a press conference while giving an update on the latest shooting that occurred outside the bar early Saturday. There were no injuries. The Saturday shooting follows a fatal one that occurred on May 3, when a customer was shot dead inside the bar.
"The individuals that own McCabe's Bar have already been served with a notice of violation of lease," Umberger said. "And they are going to be required to change their hours of operation."
The Facebook page for McCabe's Bar shows the bar opens Mondays to Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m.
The bar was open on Tuesday, and an employee who answered the phone said she would relay a reporter's request for comment.
It was not immediately known Tuesday what the new hours of business were.
Umberger said he also suggested to the bar operators to hire security and screen patrons coming into the bar for firearms in the foreseeable future.
"Our primary concern is public safety," Umberger said. "People are concerned about the two incidents at McCabe's Bar. We are, too. We take it very seriously."
On Saturday at 2:05 a.m., DeLand police said they responded to a shooting call at McCabe's. Investigators learned that regular patron, Calvin Gilbert, 55, had been drinking with a man in the bar. He bought the man he just met at the bar a beer, police said.
At closing time, Gilbert got into an argument with the man and demanded reimbursement. During the confrontation, Gilbert went to his car, retrieved a satchel from which he pulled out a gun and fired it three feet away from the victim's head, Umberger said.
In surveillance video released Tuesday, Gilbert can be seen first approaching the victim outside McCabe's Bar, exchanging words and tossing a drink in the victim's face. Gilbert is later seen returning with a gun in his right hand and pointing to the victim with a raised left arm.
He walks past two other persons, approaches the victim, raises the gun, and fires. The victim can be seen ducking sideways to avoid getting shot in the head. Gilbert was arrested Sunday in a traffic stop and charged with attempted murder and the use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Three weeks before Saturday's shooting, on May 3, police said Keshod Harris, 32, of DeLand, was struck multiple times in the chest when Avantae Williams, 24, a graduate of DeLand High School and a former college football player with the Miami Hurricanes and Maryland Terrapins, allegedly shot Harris who was jealous over a woman.
Umberger said the owners of McCabe's Bar have been cooperative and believed they will comply with the new requirements to stay in business.
Umberger said they have also asked the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to review McCabe's Bar's liquor license.
Umberger concluded that people who engage in gun violence will be held accountable.
"Individuals who choose to unlawfully carry and use these firearms are ultimately responsible for their actions. We will arrest them and bring them to justice," the chief said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand bar shootings puts business under scrutiny
