According to authorities, a gunshot in downtown Orlando early Friday killed two people and injured seven others as others celebrated Halloween.
Police apprehended a 17-year-old on suspicion of carrying out the shooting. No motive has been discovered, and the identities of those slain and injured have not been revealed. According to police, the victims varied in age from 18 to 39, with two fatalities at the ages of 19 and 25.
Police claimed six people were shot, and a 26-year-old woman was trampled as the throng fled.
According to Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, bullets were fired shortly after 1 a.m. along Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue, followed by additional shots minutes later.
According to police, the suspect, Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, has been captured and detained. He was eventually charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a handgun.
The State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit said Monday that Edgar had been charged as an adult.
He had already been arrested on a grand theft charge in 2023, which is still under investigation.
Smith informed reporters Friday afternoon that the subject had been uncooperative with authorities. Investigators are seeking to determine how he obtained the pistol.
Orlando police revealed surveillance video that showed the suspect in a yellow shirt strolling through the crowd. He appeared to lift his right hand and start firing. Crowds dispersed in all directions as gunfire broke out, according to the video. The police footage shows a cop knocking down the offender, and three others running to assist in his arrest.
Smith said Halloween is one of the city’s largest nights of the year, with crowds ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 people. According to Smith, over 100 police officers were monitoring the area and tackled the shooter shortly after the rounds were fired.
“The police performed an excellent job. They responded immediately when they heard the shooting, you know. So everyone else is running. They’re not; they’re sitting in position, waiting for a gunman. They found the shooter. “They took him down,” he explained.
He claimed the suspect was determined to carry out the shooting and did not seem deterred by the police presence.
“Whatever his thinking was, he was going to shoot regardless. He strolled past many officers… He passed at least ten police, walking just by them,” Smith added.
Following the incident, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer declared a local state of emergency in the city’s downtown entertainment district and imposed a 1 a.m. curfew. For the next seven days, there will be no alcohol sales after midnight.
Dyer stated that the city had implemented safety precautions in the downtown area, such as coordinated admission and weapon screening.
He claimed that revisions to the state’s concealed weapons rules have “made it even easier for people to carry guns and bring guns downtown.” Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis passed legislation allowing residents to carry concealed loaded firearms without a permit.
“Honestly, I am frustrated to have to stand in front of you all and again, share the news that we have senselessly lost another life due to gun violence,” Dyer said in response.
Workers and passersby near the shooting scene went about their business Friday morning, with little evidence of the hours-long mayhem. About 10 feet of yellow police tape was stretched between a parking meter and a nearby business.
Rocio Taylor, 70, who lives about three blocks from the shooting location, said she avoids going out after 7 p.m. on weekends because the bar and club scene is too raucous.
She also said that the region frequently organizes festivals and attracts a younger demographic. Taylor, who works in a bridal dress business, said she would want to see more police presence.
“It’s Halloween,” she explained. “They consume too much alcohol. They go to nightclubs. “They are out of control.”
Reference: 2 fatally shot and 7 injured in Orlando during Halloween celebrations