Man arrested after mass shooting at Halloween party in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A gunman who opened fire during a street Halloween celebration that drew thousands of costumed revelers to downtown Orlando killed two people and wounded six others, authorities said.

Officers quickly arrested a 17-year-old male suspect, city Police Chief Eric Smith said during a briefing. Authorities have not yet determined a motive.

The shooter fired a shot in the city center’s bar and restaurant district around 1 a.m. Officers responded as the costumed celebrities fled on foot, and the same gunman fired again about a block away, Smith said.

Smith said the six injured people, ranging in age from 19 to 39, were taken to hospital and were in stable condition.

Smith showed video from street cameras and a police body camera that captured the shooting and the suspect’s arrest.

After the first shots were fired, police used surveillance video to develop a description of the suspect, but then saw him open fire at a second location, Smith said.

“No matter his attitude, he was going to shoot no matter what,” Smith said.

Authorities recovered a handgun at the scene of the arrest and have no other suspects, he added. On Friday, police announced that the 17-year-old was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm.

Smith said more than 100 officers were patrolling the crowd, estimated at 50,000 to 100,000 people, who celebrated Halloween on Thursday evening and early Friday morning in one of downtown Orlando’s largest events each year.

The Halloween celebration took place about 10 miles from Orlando’s tourist district and attracts primarily Central Florida residents. Tens of thousands of revelers usually celebrate downtown on the Saturday after Halloween.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer declared a local state of emergency at the entertainment center on Friday. For the next seven days, alcohol sales will end at midnight and a curfew will apply from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

“We do not make this decision lightly and have taken a number of other actions before getting to this point,” Dyer said.

During previous Halloween celebrations, police closed downtown streets and used dogs to check weapons as people walked past entry points, but they changed their procedures after Florida lawmakers passed a law in 2023 not requiring permits to carry concealed weapons, the chief said police.

“You can carry a gun on a public street if you meet certain criteria,” Smith said. “Then it changed and we couldn’t do it anymore.”

Florida State Attorney Andrew Baine said his agency is waiting for more information from police investigating the case before deciding whether the teen will be charged as an adult.