On September 10, 2024, 27-year-old Craig S. Dewberry Jr., a Palm Bay resident and local social media influencer, was fatally shot inside the Tip Top Mini Mart on Monroe Street in Melbourne. The shooting occurred about 12:12 p.m., with gunfire reported east of Stone Magnet Middle School and the school placed on immediate lockdown. Dewberry was inside the store when at least three men approached him; witnesses say the encounter involved a robbery of Dewberry’s jewelry. He surrendered his jewelry but was shot and found deceased by officers who arrived within two minutes.

Police searched the area with K9 units and closed University Boulevard from Lipscomb Street to Main Street for over two hours; discarded jewelry was recovered near where the suspects fled. An arrest was made the night of September 10 when 21-year-old Malachi Bell of Homestead was taken into custody at a Greyhound station in Sebastian and charged with first-degree felony murder and robbery with a firearm. Dewberry’s family has called for further arrests, believing others were involved. A memorial has been placed outside the mini mart.

If anyone was in or near the store that afternoon or has information about the people who fled on foot or in vehicles, please come forward.