Police chief: Officer shoots armed suspect
Authorities say man had been seen in kidnapping
An Orlando police officer shot an armed man near a West Colonial Drive shopping plaza Wednesday who had been seen kidnapping someone earlier in the morning, police Chief Orlando Rolón told reporters.
Rolón said the suspect, whose name has not been released, was in stable but critical condition at a local hospital. No officers were injured, the police chief said.
The shooting happened outside the Western Way Shopping Center, which is across Colonial from the Magic Mall and a short walk from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Rolón said the kidnapping happened about 10 a.m., in the area of Arlington Street and Westmoreland Drive.
A sergeant who was conducting surveillance, based on concerns about drug activity from area residents, saw a man being forced into a silver Hyundai SUV by two other men, OPD said.
The sergeant reported in and patrol cars followed the vehicle.
The man who was later shot bailed out of the SUV about a mile down the road, near the corner of Ross Place and Stryker Street, Rolón said, while the other suspect was taken into custody and the kidnapping victim was recovered safely.
The fleeing suspect ran to the parking lot of the Western Way Shopping Center, where he tried to carjack someone before officers confronted him and “a shooting took place,” Rolón said. He said the suspect had two guns with him.
OPD posted photos of the weapons on Twitter.
“I cannot get into the specifics of the shooting,” Rolón told reporters.
The officer who shot the suspect was taken to the Orlando Police Department’s headquarters. Rolón said he would be identified soon.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting.
It’s unclear if the officer captured the shooting on a body worn camera. Rolón said that information “will be part of the investigation.”
The Western Way Shopping Center was built in 1955 and is known for its large green sign which features a horse-riding cowboy swinging a lasso.
Thamare Fefe was working the register at Elegant Beauty Supplies in the plaza when she heard a gunshot. She was the only one working and said she “didn’t pay mind to it.” But when she heard a second shot, she looked out the door.
“I saw a police officer like running after somebody,” she said.
Fefe ran to the bathroom at the back of the store and called her cousin — “shaking,” she said.
“I’m like, oh my gosh, what if this guy comes in here?” she said.
Amir Isa, owner of Best Seafood, which is next door, said he came to open his restaurant when he saw the parking lot taped off. He said news of a shooting didn’t surprise him.
“Every year some crazy stuff happens here, so it’s not too much of a surprise,” he said. “But it definitely makes me concerned about the neighborhood in this area.”