A 45-year-old convenience store employee is dead after a shooting inside Kings Food Mart in Ocala, and police have charged a 19-year-old with second-degree murder in connection with the killing. The victim, identified by police as Ocala resident Ean Stein, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead following the shooting at the store located at the intersection of Southwest Fort King Street and Southwest Martin Luther King Avenue.
Ocala police identified Stein as a store employee who was working when he was shot, according to WFTV. Investigators later identified the suspect as 19-year-old Curnel Brown, who was located and taken into custody shortly after the shooting, according to police cited in reporting from FOX 35 Orlando. Brown now faces a second-degree murder charge, police said.
Surveillance footage reviewed by detectives showed that Stein had been involved in a brief physical fight inside the store with another individual just before the shooting, and that Brown was present during that altercation but was not a participant in it, per News4JAX. That footage became central evidence for detectives working to piece together how the confrontation escalated into gunfire. The identity of the person who fought with Stein, and that person's connection to Brown, remains an open question in the investigation.
Rapid Arrest and Recovered Weapon
Police found Brown at a nearby location within minutes of the shooting and arrested him without incident, the station's report noted. Officers also recovered the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting. Investigators determined that the use of deadly force was not justified, which forms the basis for the second-degree murder charge rather than a lesser offense.
Under Florida Statute § 782.04(2), second-degree murder covers an unlawful killing carried out by an act imminently dangerous to another and demonstrating what the law calls a depraved mind, without requiring premeditated intent, according to a summary from the Panella Law Firm. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to life in prison and a $10,000 fine. It is a distinction from first-degree murder, which requires premeditation, and helps explain the specific charge Brown now faces.
Scene Processed Amid Evening Commute
Crime scene technicians dusted the store's front door for fingerprints and inspected a vehicle parked on the property while Ocala police secured the Southwest Fort King Street intersection with crime scene tape, according to local reporting relayed by Marion County Unsolved Homicides. The tape and police presence blocked the intersection during evening commute hours, drawing comments of localized concern from residents on the Ocala Police Department's Facebook page.
Kings Food Mart has drawn police attention before. Ocala-News.com archives show the store at 149 SW Martin Luther King Avenue was the site of a May 2019 police chase that began after an officer saw a car leave without its headlights on, as well as a May 2023 domestic battery investigation.
A Break From Ocala's Recent Trend
The shooting stands out against a stretch of relative calm the city had recently reported. The Ocala Police Department had recorded zero homicides in the city for 13 consecutive months through July 2025, alongside a nearly 5 percent drop in violent crime from 2023 to 2024 despite a 4.8 percent population surge, according to figures reported by 352today. More recent citywide data pegs Ocala's violent crime rate at roughly 499.7 incidents per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, giving a resident an estimated 1-in-259 annual chance of being a victim of violent crime, per figures published by DoorProfit.
Investigators are still seeking information about the shooting and are asking anyone with details to contact the Ocala Police Department. Anonymous tipsters who submit information through Crime Stoppers of Marion County that leads to a felony arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000. Tips can be submitted by calling 352-368-STOP (7867) or online at ocalacrimestoppers.com.
