Orlando Halloween shooting leaves 2 dead, 6 wounded; 17-year-old arrested

Eight people were shot, two of them fatally, as thousands of revelers enjoyed the Halloween festivities in downtown Orlando, police said.

Officers received a report of shots fired near Central Blvd. and Orange Avenue on Friday around 1 a.m., Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith told reporters during a news conference. Just minutes later, gunfire erupted for a second time nearby, and authorities were able to quickly make an arrest.

In surveillance and body cam video, the streets appear packed with people, many of them in costume, when the gunman appears and starts shooting, sparking chaos as everyone attempts to get to safety. The 17-year-old suspect, who has not been identified, killed two people and wounded six more before authorities took him down.

The victims were taken to hospital and range in age from 19 to 39, according to police.

Smith told reporters that Orlando is a popular spot for Halloween, with anything between 50,000 to 100,000 people expected to show up and celebrate this year. He added that there were 100 officers patrolling the area and lauded them for quickly detaining the shooter.

A handgun was also recovered at the scene, he added.

“The officers did a great job,” the police chief said.

“They responded right when they heard the shooting, you know,” he continued. “So everybody else is running. They’re not, they’re sitting in position looking for a shooter. They found a shooter. They took him down,”

While authorities have provided few details about the gunman, police said he was previously arrested for grand theft in 2023.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain said it’s likely the teen suspect would be charged as an adult but added the investigation is still ongoing.

With News Wire Services