Local

Deputies: Homeless man shot outside 7-Eleven on Lee Road

ORLANDO, Fla. — A confrontation over money led to a fight that left a homeless man dead outside an Orlando convenience store Sunday morning.

Orange County deputies were called to a 7-Eleven on the 800 block of Lee Road near Interstate 4 around 5 a.m. Sunday in reference to a shooting.

Once at the scene, deputies found a homeless man in his late 20s in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Investigators said the man who was shot had approached a customer at the store, only identified as a man in his 40s, and asked for money.

When the customer said he had no money and tried to leave, deputies said the man who asked for money began punching the customer in his vehicle, at which point the customer pulled out a handgun and shot him in the chest.

According to the sheriff’s office, the shooter walked back into the store, told the clerk to call police and stayed at the scene until deputies arrived.

Investigators spent hours gathering evidence and said the shooting was justified based on surveillance video footage from the store.

Channel 9’s Roy Ramos spoke to a friend of the homeless man who said he was not armed.

“He never hurt anybody,” said the homeless man’s friend, who did not want to be identified. “He was trying to get hotel room money and trying to get by. He was a good guy.”

The man who was shot was later pronounced dead at the hospital. He has not been identified pending notification of next of kin.

Deputies said the homeless man was well-known in the area.

The incident remains under investigation, but detectives said the shooting appears to be justified and they don't expect the shooter to face any charges.