Orlando police search for motive after Halloween shootings left 2 dead in crowded nightlife district. Here’s what we know

By Paradise Afshar, Andy Rose, Ashley R. Williams and Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — Orlando police are still searching Saturday for a motive in two shootings that left two people dead and wounded eight others while thousands celebrated Halloween early Friday morning.

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

A 19-year-old man and a 25-year-old man were killed. The injured victims were 18 to 39, police said.

Two were admitted to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition and listed as stable later Friday morning, hospital spokesperson Marlei Martinez told CNN. Additionally, a 26-year-old woman was hospitalized after being trampled as bystanders fled.

Orlando police identified a 10th victim, who was in stable condition after taking herself to a hospital Friday morning.

This was the 27th mass shooting in Florida this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, with more than 400 nationwide. CNN defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people were shot, excluding the shooter.

The suspect opened fire in the first location before running away with the crowd, Police Chief Eric Smith said, citing footage of the first shooting. At a second location, police took down the suspect moments after he opened fire, the video showed.

About 100 officers were working a detail in the area, which allowed for a quick response but did not appear to deter the shooter, Smith said.

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

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

Police are investigating whether the victims were random or known to the suspect. Video captures the moment police say the suspect passes a victim and then turns around and fires.

“Did he know him? Did he just happen to stumble across somebody who is one of his enemies for whatever reason? That’s all part of the case,” Smith said.

The suspect was interviewed Friday morning as police sought a motive, Smith said. “This person right here threw away his life. For what?” Smith said.

Authorities are considering whether to charge the suspect as an adult, said State Attorney Andrew Bain. “Obviously, from the multiple victims and the brazen nature of the crime, there are several aggravating factors that would fit inside the matrix to charge him as an adult,” Bain said.

The attack was yet another example of gunfire interrupting ordinary American life, from parade routes to campus homecomings to a night out on the town.

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

Here’s what we know about Friday’s killings and the investigation so far:

‘Everyone started running’ as shots rang out

Large crowds gathered for Halloween festivities scattered as shots were fired just after 1 a.m. Friday, surveillance videos from the scene show.

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

“Everyone started running,” she said. “I saw a group of people, you know, enjoying Halloween … and then shots fired, and everybody just dispersed. I heard so many girls calling and crying.”

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

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

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

“When the law changed, basically you can carry on a public street as long as you meet certain criteria,” he said.

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

“We want a downtown that is fun and vibrant, but we have experienced lately that brazen criminals are 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 to add to secure downtown through the weekend, which is usually a popular hangout spot the Saturday after Halloween, they said.

Some city officials were considering whether to close a large section of downtown, allowing access from only one point during weekends and special events, Orlando District 5 Commissioner Shan Rose told WKMG.

“We have been working with the businesses and some of the residents downtown to look at options of going to a full, coordinated entry access point,” Rose said.

‘The first thing I did was thank God I’m still here’

Among the two men killed was a University of Central Florida student, the Orlando-based college confirmed to students in an email on Friday shared with CNN.

“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 impacted many students who were out celebrating Halloween and in the vicinity of this incident,” the university – the largest in Florida – said in the statement.

Anthony Berry, 20, was grazed by a bullet along his upper scalp – an injury that could’ve been more serious if it had been located a centimeter lower, Orlando Health trauma surgeon Joseph Ibrahim said at a Friday news conference.

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

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

His head felt warm and he realized he was injured, Berry said.

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

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