ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orlando police officers said a man accused of opening fire in the middle of John Young Parkway outside the Orange County Jail Wednesday told them he did it because he was mad at his ex-girlfriend and her new partner.
That man, who they identified as Anthony Myles, was informed by a judge Thursday that he would remain in jail on no bond for now.
Myles has been charged with multiple second-degree felonies for the shooting. His arrest affidavit said he had been trying to reach the ex-girlfriend’s partner, calling him several times that morning.
The pair said they first encountered Myles at the intersection of Metrowest Boulevard and S. Kirkman Road when he began chasing them.
The couple said Myles rammed them with his car and pointed a gun out the window at them, opening fire as they did anything to attract law enforcement’s attention.
The girlfriend called 911 and told officers the dispatcher directed her to go to the nearby jail for help.
Officers said Myles fired three shots as the couple made a U-turn into the jail parking lot, in front of WFTV news photographer Andrew Hoover, who was working with a reporter on an unrelated story.
“This is not safe,” Hoover recalled saying as he watched the cars pull in and deputies swarm them, reaching for their pistols. “The cops might start shooting. Somebody might start shooting. It looks like they’re about to have a shootout. All I can think is -- we have to get away.”
Hoover drove the duo to the other end of the parking lot and began filming, capturing Myles’ arrest.
“There were people all over this parking lot, so you saw people start to put their heads down in their cars. You saw other cars start to peel out,” he said.
Officers said a 76-year-old woman who was passing by the jail was hit by the three bullets. Officers insinuated her injuries were relatively minor.
Myles, who does not have a prior criminal record in Orange County, reportedly admitted to the shooting later on and told deputies he lost control of his emotions.
He’s due back in court next week.
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