A student from Miami recalls the scary moments a gunman opened fire during a Halloween night out in Orlando. NBC6’s Sophia Hernandez reports
A Miami resident was among the crowd that ran for their lives during a Halloween shooting that police said claimed two lives in downtown Orlando and left eight others hurt.
A 17-year-old boy was arrested and charged in the gunfire, but the motive is still not clear.
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The chaos caused panic for the thousands in downtown Orlando in the overnight hours, including 20-year-old Miami native Melanie Barcelo, who goes to school and works in the city.
She said she and her friends just wanted a night out, and while events like last night have always been in the back of her head, she said she never expected to find herself in the middle of it.
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Barcelo said it was around 1 a.m., while her group was sitting and waiting for an Uber, when a block away, the shots were fired.
“It was just really scary,” she said. “Out of nowhere we literally just hear four gunshots, and all I remember is just running.”
The crowd took off, and surveillance video released by police shows the suspect among them, wearing a bright yellow shirt. In the footage, he takes out a gun, fire the weapon and shoots a person at point-blank range.
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Orlando police said he fired his gun in two different areas, at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue, and south of Washington Street and Orange Avenue.
Two people were killed, and eight others were hurt, according to police.
Officers tackled the alleged shooter within minutes.
“It’s just scary. It’s something that shouldn’t happen... My friends and I are completely traumatized about the situation. Like at the end of the day, all we really wanted was just to go out and have a little bit of fun, and it turned into something so chaotic and so traumatizing for a lot of us,” she said.
Barcelo said she had an iffy feeling that night, not realizing just how many people would be out on the streets.
She said those who were there at the time of the shooting don’t foresee themselves having a night out anytime soon.
“A lot of us blame ourselves for even just leaving home to go out, and that shouldn't be like that,” she said. “We should be able to go have fun. It's just, it's clear that the streets clearly aren’t safe.”
Officers with Orlando police said a motive for why the teenager would shoot into a crowd has still not been determined.
Among the survivors is 20-year-old Anthony Berry, who says a bullet grazed his head.
He said if he hadn’t ducked, he would not be here today.
“We wouldn’t have this interview. It’s not an if, it’s a definite fact,” he told NBC affiliated WESH.
All of the victims are currently receiving care at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
The University of Central Florida confirmed that one of the men who died was a student at the university.
The Orlando mayor also announced a curfew and an early end to alcohol sales for the downtown area.
