Harley Van Leer, a 44-year-old White male, was shot late morning on May 25, 2025, on a residential block off Northwest 7th Place in Newberry, Florida. Deputies responding to multiple 911 calls found him with a gunshot wound to the chest; lifesaving efforts were begun and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The scene was logged near the 25700 block of NW 7th Place, where patrol cars and crime-scene tape drew a large police presence.

A 19-year-old Newberry resident, David Dwayne Martin Jr., was detained and identified himself as the shooter. Investigators say Martin admitted to firing the shot during an encounter on Northwest 7th Place, then left the immediate area and transferred the firearm to another person before deputies recovered it. The weapon was documented as a 9mm Glock 19 Gen5 with an attached laser/strobe light and an extended 17-round magazine. Early briefs described the shooting as not apparently random and said the two men knew one another; by May 28, 2025, court records listed charges related to the weapon and tampering with evidence, not a homicide count.

Family and friends publicly mourned Van Leer, sharing remembrances and calling for a full accounting of what led to the fatal shot on that quiet Newberry street. Does anyone have information about Van Leer’s movements that morning or witnesses who saw the encounter on Northwest 7th Place?