'It's a war going on in Orlando' says rapper hoping to spark change after uptick in crime

ORLANDO, Fla. — The recent uptick in violence in Orange County is taking a toll on people in the community.

An Orlando rapper said he's lost two friends this week, and now he's calling for an end to the violence.

The victims' friend said he knows at least 20 people who have died, and some of those victims include friends and family members.

Antwuan Miles said he went to elementary school with the pregnant woman deputies said died in a shooting carried out by her ex-boyfriend Tuesday night.

Miles knows the cost of gun violence.

"I've been burying my home boys since I was 15 to 16,” Miles.

He's 25 now, and he's buried nearly two dozen people, including his good friend.

"He was killed in a triple homicide on Mercy Drive," Miles said.

His uncle also died by gun violence.

"He was shot in the head,” said Miles.

Miles said it feels like the shootings never stop.

"Every time you turn around, it's another murder," he said.

Miles also lost two other friend this week.

His former neighbor Jeffrey Webb, 47, died in a shooting outside a 7 Eleven on North Lane Parkway on Sunday night.

Then, less than 48 hours later, his friend Sade Dixon died after deputies say her ex-boyfriend, Markeith Loyd, shot her when she answered her front door at her home on Long Peak Drive.

Miles released a music video in September for a song he wrote called "Warlando."

He said he chose that title because he felt like it fit.

"It's a war going on in Orlando, and I'm not saying like a big war--just a war amongst ourselves with all this killings,” he said.

He said he’s not sure how to fix it all.

"It's not going to stop overnight,” he said.

He wants to help make the community a safer place.

"It's got to start somewhere, and it's going to start with us—people like me,” he said.

Miles said he's working to put together job fairs and youth groups to help keep people out of trouble.

Cox Media Group