14 shot this week in Orange
Victims include barbershop owner, teen celebrating his birthday
It’s been a violent week in Orange County, with 14 reported gunshot victims since Oct. 21, including a barbershop owner, a teenager and a lifelong Orlando resident who died.
The shootings marked a milestone for Orange County: 100 homicides this year. That’s 16 more than this time last year, and the count doesn’t include the 49 victims of the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting.
The latest killing ended the life of a well-known Pine Hills businessman Wednesday night in his barbershop. Gunfire erupted shortly after 8:15 p.m. at the Strictly Skillz shop at 400 N. Pine Hills Road, killing the shop’s owner, 43-year-old Brian Berry, and injuring 36-year-old Reginald Trammel, according to the Orange County Sheriff ’s Office.
Prominent Central Florida civil rights attorney Natalie Jackson held a news conference outside the shop Thursday afternoon to talk about the incident and what Berry meant to the Pine Hills community.
“Black barbershops are the hub of the community — not just a business in the community but actually a social center,” Jackson said. “To have this happen is just devastating.”
Tranise Brown owns the Personality’s Hair Studio in the same shopping plaza, just a few doors down from the barbershop, and was with a client when the shooting started. She said she heard a few strange “thump” sounds and, at first, thought workers were moving something around in the neighboring convenience store. And then she heard sirens. “It’s kind of just mind-blowing,” Brown said. “When I got home, I just broke down. I couldn’t even get out of my car. It’s just so sad.”
Berry, who was married with two elementary school-aged children, was wellknown in the Pine Hills community and a “real put-together man,” Brown said. He was always willing to help those around him, she said, and once a year he held backto-school drives to hand out backpacks or sneakers to children in need.
“This man was the type of man you’d imagine would live for a long time,” Brown said. “It’s unbelievable. Terrible.”
Jackson, the civil rights attorney, represented Berry and Trammel when they sued the Sheriff’s Office and a state licensing agency following a 2010 SWAT-style raid on their barbershop. The raid was part of a sting operation targeting barbershops in areas populated with primarily black and Hispanic people.
After a review, the state agency fired several employees who had been involved in the operations and an appeals court ruled the deputies violated the barbers’ rights. Their case was eventually referred to mediation.
Mario Anderson worked at the barbershop and said he looked up to Berry, who bought the shop in 2007.
“He just made me realize that if anybody puts their mind to it and strives for it than anybody can do it,” Anderson said.
Brown said she has taken note of the crime in Pine Hills and helped organize a walk in July, urging residents to spread peace and “stop the violence.” But it only continued, she said, and she decided a few weeks ago that it was best for her to move her business out of Pine Hills.
“Every time somebody dies in this area, it’s shameful,” she said.
Violent days
Since Friday, authorities have responded to at least eight calls for shootings across Orange County that injured 11 people and killed three others.
The recent victims include a teen who was gunned down while celebrating his birthday with family and friends at their Pine Hills home and a 49-year-old who was killed at a Parramore convenience store.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies have made three arrests in one of the cases: A drive-by shooting Friday afternoon at the Deerwood Mobile Home Community, east of Orlando, that injured an 18-year-old man.
No other arrests have been made, and investigators have released few details in any of the cases.
The violent week started Friday with the shooting at the mobile home park in east Orange County. Deputies said the 18-year-old victim, whose name hasn’t been released, was inside his home when he was struck by a bullet fired from a car outside.
The teen was flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center and is expected to survive.
‘I never thought my brother would pass away’
The next day, deputies got a call about a shooting at home on Kingsland Avenue in Pine Hills. Terrance Givens was celebrating his 17th birthday a few days early with 50 or 60 of his friends and family members when gunshots rang out about 10:25 p.m., according to the Sheriff ’s Office.
A bullet struck Terrance in the head and another hit an 18-year-old woman. Terrance, a sophomore at Evans High School, died on Sunday, the day before his birthday. The woman was treated and released from the hospital.
His half-brother, 17-year-old Trevon Givens, missed the party, but got a text message from their uncle about the shooting. He said he didn’t know what to think at first.
“Shot doesn’t always mean death,” he said. “I never thought my brother would pass away.”
Trevon Givens said his brother was a natural entertainer. He liked to make his family and friends laugh by freestyle rapping, telling jokes or dancing.
“Terrance would never let you have a down day,” he said. “He’s never sad, so he didn’t want you to be sad. He’d always find a way to cheer your up.”
Deputies said they don’t have a motive for the shooting and have not made any arrests.
Trevon Givens said his family is trying to stay strong. At a candlelight vigil earlier this week, people broke down in tears.
“All my friends were saying things like, ‘why are we crying? Terrance wouldn’t want us to cry, he’d want us to be playing music,’ ” he said.
Violence continued
A man was pistol-whipped and shot in the leg Sunday night during a fight at a home in Parramore. On Tuesday, three more people were shot at a convenience store just few blocks away, according to Orlando police.
Rodney Watts, a lifelong Orlando resident, was killed in Tuesday’s shooting. Two men were injured.
City Commissioner Regina Hill, whose district includes Parramore, organized a news conference Wednesday, along with local pastors, to urge young residents to be “success stories and not casket stories.” Hill said Watts, 49, was “loved by all.” Two others were injured elsewhere Tuesday: A man was shot at the Shell gas station on Old Winter Garden Road in Pine Hills and another was hit by bullet while sleeping in an east Orange County neighborhood.
Three teens received non-life threatening injuries Wednesday when a fight broke out about 6 p.m. on a basketball court on Youngstown Avenue, deputies said.