The teen suspect in a deadly Halloween shooting in Orlando has been charged as an adult. Here’s what we know – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — The 17-year-old suspect in the shooting at a Halloween party in downtown Orlando early Friday was charged as an adult Monday, prosecutors announced.

Jaylen Dwayne Edgar was arrested at the scene, where police body camera video showed a large crowd running away from gunfire, leaving two people dead and six others injured.

“Shooting into a large crowd like this shows a true disregard for life, and the only option is to charge this defendant as an adult because it is consistent with the egregious nature of the crime,” State Attorney Andrew Bain said at a news conference Monday.

Bain said two counts of second-degree murder have been filed against Edgar and more charges are expected to be filed. He added that a grand jury could upgrade those charges to first-degree murder. “It was clear on the video that he shot someone in the eye at point blank range,” Bain said.

The slain men were identified as Tyreek Hill, 25, and Timothy Schmidt Jr., 19, the Orlando Police Department told CNN in an email Saturday. According to police, the victims ranged in age from 18 to 39 years old.

Two of them were hospitalized at Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition and were later declared stable Friday morning, hospital spokeswoman Marley Martinez told CNN. In addition, a 26-year-old woman was hospitalized after being trampled as passersby fled. The 10th victim was in stable condition after being taken to the hospital Friday morning, according to Orlando police.

It was not immediately clear whether Edgar had legal representation for the charges brought against him when he was an adult.

The shooting was the 27th mass shooting in Florida this year and is among more than 400 similar shootings nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive. CNN defines a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people, not including the shooter, were shot.

The suspect opened fire at one location and then ran away with the crowd, Police Chief Eric Smith said, citing video footage. The suspect opened fire again at a different location and police took him into custody minutes later, the chief said.

About 100 officers worked in the area, which allowed for a quick response but did not appear to stop the shooter, Smith said. “Whatever his mindset was, he was going to shoot no matter what,” Smith said. “He walked past several officers. He didn’t care.”

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

Police are investigating whether the victims were random or known to the suspect. The video shows the moment police say the suspect walks past the victim and then turns around and shoots. “Did he know him? Has he accidentally stumbled upon someone who is, for some reason, one of his enemies? It’s all part of it,” Smith said.

The suspect was being questioned Friday morning as police looked into the motive, Smith said. “This man sacrificed his life right here. Why?” Smith said.

“The broader issue is keeping guns and access to them out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, especially our youth,” Bain said Monday.

The attack was yet another example of shootings that have disrupted normal American life, from parades to campus graduations to nights out on the town.

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

Here’s what we know about how Friday’s shooting unfolded:

“Everyone ran” when shots rang out

Large crowds of people gathered for Halloween celebrations dispersed when shots were fired just after 1 a.m. Friday, surveillance video from the scene shows. Sofia Alcala, who works downtown, told CNN affiliate WKMG that she heard gunshots before everyone started “getting excited.”

“Everyone started running,” she said. “I saw a group of people enjoying Halloween… and then shots rang out and everyone just left. I heard a lot of girls calling and crying.”

A few minutes later, shots were fired at a second location, about a block away. “Shortly after shots were reported, the suspect in the shooting was located and taken into custody in Washington and Orange,” Chief Smith said. A handgun was found at the scene, police said.

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people gathered in the area to celebrate Halloween, which is “one of our busiest nights of the year,” Smith said.

But this year the measures used in previous years screening people for weapons during the downtown Halloween celebration, including security checkpoints and gun-sniffing dogs, was not possible since a 2023 state law allows most people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, Smith said.

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

The changes make it even easier for people to carry guns and bring them downtown, Mayor Buddy Dyer said.

Dyer declared a state of emergency for businesses in the downtown Orlando entertainment district. Police said a curfew from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. will remain in effect until Nov. 8.

“We want downtown to be fun and vibrant, but what we’ve seen lately is brazen criminals willing to come downtown and shoot and kill innocent victims right in front of our police officers,” Dyer said.

Police said they were looking into what resources could be added to provide security in the downtown area over the weekend, which they said is typically a popular party spot on the Saturday after Halloween.

Some city officials have been considering whether to close much of the downtown area, allowing access from only one location on weekends and special events, District 5 Orlando Commissioner Shan Rose told WKMG.

“We are working with businesses and some downtown residents to look at options to transition to a full, coordinated hotspot,” Rose said.

“The first thing I did was thank God that I was still here.”

One of the two men killed was a student at the University of Central Florida, Orlando college students confirmed in an email Friday to CNN.

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

“He was an extraordinary man, a loving son, a caring friend, a talented football player, an incredible teammate, a kind soul, a hard-working student and a person with an extremely warm heart and a witty sense of humor,” the GoFundMe said.

“Our hearts are heavy with grief as we mourn this tragic, senseless violence, which also resulted in the injury of at least one other student and may have affected many students who were celebrating Halloween and were in close proximity to this incident,” – stated at the university. “The largest in Florida,” the email said.

Anthony Berry, 20, suffered a gunshot wound to the top of his skull, an injury that could have been more serious if it had been located 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 that I was still here,” said Berry, who plans to major in nursing. Berry was walking with a friend when the shooting started.

He recalled the alleged shooter making a quick motion with his hand, so Berry said he ducked before he saw a flash of white light.

Berry said his head felt warm and he realized he was injured.

“I’m in EMT school, so I just took a trauma assessment. So my shirt… was holding the wound, I knew it was bleeding a lot,” he said. He was later taken to the hospital.

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