Orlando police are looking for a motive in a Halloween shooting that left 2 people dead, including a Weston man, in a busy nightlife area. Here’s what we know – WSVN 7News | Miami news, weather, sports

(CNN) — Orlando police are still searching for a motive for two shootings Saturday that killed two people, including a Weston man, and wounded eight others as thousands celebrated Halloween early Friday morning.

Police said they charged the 17-year-old with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm.

The victims were identified as Tyreke Hill, 25, and Timothy Schmidt Jr., 19, of Weston, the Orlando Police Department confirmed to CNN via email Saturday. According to the police, the victims were between 18 and 39 years old.

The two were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition and were listed as stable late Friday morning, hospital spokesman Marley Martinez told CNN. Additionally, a 26-year-old woman was hospitalized after being trampled as bystanders fled.

Orlando police have identified a tenth victim who was listed in stable condition after being taken to a hospital Friday morning.

It was the 27th mass shooting in Florida this year, among more than 400 nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive. CNN defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, other than the shooter, are shot.

The suspect opened fire at one location and then fled with the crowd, Police Chief Eric Smith said, citing footage of the first shooting. At the second location, police apprehended the suspect seconds after he opened fire, the video showed.

About 100 officers worked the area, which allowed for a quick response but did not deter the shooter, Smith said.

“Whatever his mindset was, he was going to shoot no matter what,” Smith said. “He walked by with several officers. He didn’t care.”

Authorities are confident the shooter acted alone, Smith said Friday afternoon, adding that the suspect is not cooperating with or talking to authorities. The suspect was previously arrested on grand larceny charges in 2023, Smith said.

Police are investigating whether the victims were random or known to the suspect. The video captures the moment police say the suspect walks past the victim before turning and shooting.

“Did he know him? Did he just happen to run into someone who is one of his enemies for some reason? It’s all part of it,” Smith said.

The suspect was being questioned Friday morning while police searched for a motive, Smith said. “This man has laid down his life right here. For what?” Smith said.

State’s Attorney Andrew Bain said authorities are considering charging the suspect as an adult. “Obviously, with the multiple victims and the brazen nature of the crime, there are several aggravating factors that fit into the matrix to charge him as an adult,” Bain said.

The attack was yet another example of how the shooting has disrupted ordinary American life, from parades to campus parties and nights out on the town.

The shooting comes blocks from the site of the deadly mass shooting at Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016, when a 29-year-old gunman killed 49 people. At least 53 more people were injured, and the police shot and killed the shooter at the scene.

Here’s what we know about Friday’s murders and the investigation:

When the shots rang out, “everyone started running.”
Large crowds of people who had gathered to celebrate Halloween dispersed as gunshots rang out just after 1 a.m. Friday, according to surveillance video from the scene.

Sofia Alcala, who works downtown, told CNN affiliate WKMG that she heard gunshots before everyone started “freaking out.”

“Everybody started running,” she said. “I saw a group of people, you know, enjoying Halloween … and then shots rang out and everyone just ran. I heard many girls calling and crying.”

Within minutes, gunshots rang out elsewhere about a block away. “Shortly after the shots were reported, the suspect in the shooting was located and taken into custody in Washington and Orange,” Smith said. A gun was recovered at the scene, the police said.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people celebrated Halloween, which is “one of our busiest nights of the year,” Smith said.

But measures used in previous years to check people for guns during downtown Halloween celebrations, including checkpoints and gun-sniffing dogs, were not possible this year because a 2023 state law allows most people to carry concealed weapons without permission, Smith said. .

“When the legislation changed, you can essentially walk down a public street if you meet certain criteria,” he said.

According to Mayor Buddy Dyer, the change “made it even easier for people to carry guns and bring guns downtown.”

Dyer has declared a state of emergency for businesses in the downtown Orlando entertainment district. Police said the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will remain in place until next Friday.

“We want to keep downtown fun and lively, but lately we’ve been dealing with brazen criminals willing to come downtown and shoot innocent victims right in front of our police officers,” Dyer said.

Police said they are looking at what resources to add to protect downtown for the weekend, which is usually a popular hangout on the Saturday after Halloween.

Some city officials have considered closing a large portion of downtown, allowing access from only one point during weekends and special events, District 5 Commissioner Orlando Shan Rose told WKMG.

“We’ve been working with businesses and some downtown residents to look at options for moving to a full coordinated access point,” Rose said.

“The first thing I did was thank God I was still here”
A University of Central Florida student was among the two men killed, students at the Orlando college confirmed in an email Friday to CNN.

Timothy Schmidt Jr. was a college freshman hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps as a businessman, according to a GoFundMe in Schmidt’s memory.

“He was an extraordinary person, a loving son, a caring friend, a talented football player, an amazing teammate, a kind soul, a hardworking student and a man with an extremely warm heart and a witty sense of humor.” according to GoFundMe.

“Our hearts are heavy with grief as we mourn this tragic, senseless act of violence that also injured at least one other student and may have affected many students who were celebrating Halloween and were in the vicinity of the incident,” the university said in a statement. – the largest in Florida, the email said.

Anthony Berry, 20, was grazed by a bullet along the top of his scalp, a wound that could have been more serious had it been an inch lower, Orlando Health trauma surgeon Joseph Ibrahim said at a news conference Friday.

“After it happened, the first thing I did was thank God I was still here,” said Berry, who plans to become a nurse. Berry was walking with a friend when the shooting began.

He recalled seeing the suspected shooter make a quick hand motion, so Berry said he dodged before seeing a flash of white light.

His head felt warm and he knew he was hurt, Berry said.

“I’m in paramedic school so I’ve just had a trauma assessment. So I had my shirt on…holding the wound, I knew it was bleeding profusely,” he said. Later, he was taken to the hospital.