DELAND, Fla. — The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said surveillance video, witness accounts and an EBT card transaction helped them track down a 25-year-old accused of shooting into a car and injuring an innocent 16-year-old.
It happened in DeLand on Woodland Avenue just after midnight on Saturday. Deputies took Travis Fowler into custody. He’s being held in the Volusia Branch Jail without bail.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said a 16-year-old was in the car with his family coming home from a graduation party when Fowler shot into the car, hitting the teenager in the head.
Chitwood said Fowler was trying to follow and shoot someone else over money, but the teen and his family got caught in the crossfire.
When Fowler appeared in court, the judge called him a danger to society and denied bail. Fowler’s mom, who didn’t share her name, told the judge that wasn’t fair.
“My boy is a good boy. I understand that he had ran into a certain situations but to label him as a threat to society I feel is wrong,” said Fowler’s mom.
Chitwood said nearby business surveillance video placed him at the shooting.
“So based on all of those circumstances, they interviewed Travis and he tells them, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was in Orlando when that happened.’ Then they show him the video and they show him his EBT purchase and he’s like, ‘yeah, well I lied,’” Chitwood said.
After two shootings at McCabe’s bar in DeLand and this one, the sheriff said a special task force made up of his deputies and DeLand police officers has been designated to crack down on illegal weapons and gun violence.
“There’s probably a dozen shooting incidents that have occurred that there is linkage to them, that we were able to link together pretty quickly using technology, and now it’s just a matter of waiting for the other shoe to drop, and the other shoe is going to drop here shortly,” said Chitwood.
Chitwood said the 16-year-old victim is expected to be OK but added that he is in the hospital recovering from a brain injury.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
