2 dead, 6 injured in shooting in downtown Orlando; 17-year-old suspect arrested, police said

ORLANDO, Fla. — Two people were killed and six others were injured in a shooting in downtown Orlando early Friday, police said.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said during a news conference that 17-year-old Jaylen Edgar was arrested in connection with the shooting, the motive for which is not yet known.

According to the Orlando Police Department, a 911 call came in shortly after 1 a.m. indicating that several people had been shot in the area of ​​Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue. A second call reported more shots fired near Washington Street and Orange Avenue, Smith said.

“Shortly after shots were allegedly fired, a suspect was located and taken into custody at Washington and Orange,” Smith said. “(…) The officers saw the second shots fired at Washington. Nobody saw the first one on Central. Of course we used the cameras to see and reproduce this. We had the opportunity to replay it at key intersections. We played the camera, saw the shooting happen, we immediately released his description, but the officers saw the second shooting because, I mean, you saw there were about five officers right there looking in that direction when he came and started shooting, and he shot several people right there.”

At the time of writing, Edgar is believed to be the only suspect in the shooting, according to Smith. Edgar was previously arrested for grand larceny in 2023, Smith added.

“There were about 100 officers on duty that night, spread out, as you can see in all the videos. The officers responded very quickly and did a great job. They responded immediately when they heard the shooting. You know, everyone else is running, it's not them, they're sitting in position looking for a shooter. They found the shooter. They knocked him down,” Smith said.

The victims range in age from 19 to 39 and were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, Smith said, adding that the survivors were in stable condition at the time of this report.

Orlando Regional Medical Center said later Friday that it had admitted nine injured patients in downtown Orlando, but did not say which of them suffered gunshot wounds.

ORMC officials said at 6:30 a.m. their conditions were:

• A man, critical but stable

• A woman, critical but stable

• Four females, stable

• Two females, released

• A man, deceased

No further details about the victims were released.

Smith said there may have been between 50,000 and 100,000 people downtown at the time of the shooting, judging by the huge Halloween crowd.

Based on current information, Orange-Osceola District Attorney Andrew Bain said during the press conference that Edgar could likely be charged as an adult pending further investigation.

Smith pointed to changes in state law to explain why a gun ban was not in effect in downtown Orlando at the time.

“I think you're talking about what we used to do, the closures, and we had the dogs and all that, it started downtown. That all went away when the law sort of changed, and basically you can carry a gun on a public street as long as you meet certain criteria. When that changed, we can’t do that anymore,” Smith said. “When state law changed, you saw that we changed the way we did things downtown. We could no longer do the dogs we had downtown. Law enforcement is constantly changing. We're working with the city and the clubs downtown to see if there's anything else we can go to to somehow ensure safety down there. As you can see with so many people down there, we have no idea what it is about people, you know, when they have a grudge against someone, you know, most people are down there to have a great time, and of course you I always get the few people who come down there and have other things on their minds.”

Under state law, with a few exceptions, it is illegal for anyone under 18 to own a firearm, except for an unloaded firearm in the home.

In a statement, Orlando police said they were considering the need for additional patrols on Saturday.

In light of this tragic incident, Orlando Police would like to remind the community that safety is our top priority. Due to the large crowds expected on Halloween, nearly 100 officers were patrolling the downtown area at the time of the shooting. Orlando police are also evaluating the need for increased patrols downtown this weekend.

Orlando Police Department press release (excerpt)

Watch the press conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.

This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.

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