A pair of linked shootings left two dead and many more running for their lives amid crowded Halloween celebrations in downtown Orlando early Friday. Police Chief Eric Smith says police responded to shots fired at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue at 1:07am. Minutes later, more shots were fired nearby on Orange Avenue south of Washington Street, at which point a 17-year-old suspect was taken into custody, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Police say two men, aged 19 and 25, were killed and six others, aged 19 to 39, were injured by gunfire. A ninth victim, a 26-year-old woman, was injured after being trampled by people fleeing. All injured are in stable condition, per NBC News.
Video from a surveillance camera on Central Boulevard shows a man in a yellow shirt exchange words with another man before pulling out a gun and shooting him in the head, per the Sentinel. Another video shows a crowd disperse as a man in a yellow shirt appears to raise a hand. He runs but is quickly wrestled to the ground by an officer. "I saw him shoot," an officer is heard saying on body-camera footage, per the Sentinel. The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Jaylen Edgar, whom police say was arrested for grand theft last year, is heard saying, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me." A handgun was recovered, Smith says.
It was Florida's 27th mass shooting of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain says it's likely Edgar will face charges as an adult. Smith says he seemed determined to carry out the shooting. "He walked by at least 10 officers, walked directly by them," he says, per NBC. Around 100 officers were patrolling the downtown area during Halloween celebrations, which drew an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people, per CBS News. The department now says it's "assessing the need for increased patrols downtown this weekend." (More mass shootings stories.)
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