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On Friday, May 8, 2026, at about 9:10 p.m., a DeLand PD officer was on foot patrol in Artisan Alley in downtown DeLand at the end of the Artisan Alley Farmer's Market. A gold Nissan Altima accelerated out of the alley at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting a pedestrian. The pedestrian stumbled but was not hit, and the Altima did not have its headlights on.

The officer approached and told the driver to stop and roll down the window. The driver backed out of the alley against the one-way traffic pattern, backed onto New York Avenue into the path of an oncoming vehicle, then took off west on New York Avenue with no lights on. At 9:15 p.m., a caller reported the Altima ran two red lights and almost hit them near New York Avenue and Spring Garden Avenue. Units checked the area but did not find it.

At 3:44 a.m. Saturday, another DeLand PD officer spotted the Altima westbound on New York Avenue near Spring Garden Avenue. The officer followed and tried to stop it at West Church Street and Craner Avenue, but the Altima got back onto New York Avenue, accelerated, ran another red light, and fled.

At 3:46 a.m., a deputy spotted the vehicle on New York Avenue near DeLand City Hall. It ran another red light, turned south on Florida Avenue, then onto Beresford Avenue. At 3:48 a.m., radio traffic indicated "one at gunpoint, northbound in southbound lanes," before the car made a U-turn into the Neighborhood Walmart.

At 3:49 a.m., a Volusia Sheriff's Office deputy fired a shot. At 3:50 a.m., the Altima crashed and stopped at the south end of the Walmart, with the wheels still spinning and the gas pedal apparently pressed. PA announcements were made to the driver, with no response.

At 4:02 a.m., the driver was seen leaning down and not moving. He had a gunshot wound to the front and no pulse. Fire and EMS arrived, crews worked a code, and he was taken to the nearest hospital. Brandon Joseph Brabin, 29, of Eustis, was pronounced dead at 5:04 a.m.