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Man shot in Orlando runs into church for help before dying at hospital; $5K reward offered

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police are trying to solve two homicides that happened Monday night within an hour of each other.

One happened outside a hotel on Colonial Drive around 7:54 p.m., and about an hour earlier, another man was shot and killed near a church on Columbia Street.

Surveillance video shows a man running into the Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church parking lot before he fell down twice.

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Church members now want justice for his family.

"He fell one time on the side of the church," said Mary Johnson with Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church.

From the parking lot, he goes to a grassy area, where he falls again.

“And when he fell again, he never got up,” Johnson said.

Johnson works in the church's office but was not there at the time of the shooting. She was told it likely happened elsewhere.

Officers said the man was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries.

"This morning, I feel so sorry for the parents of that young man,” Johnson said.

Police said this was the first fatal shooting in Orlando that night. The second happened nearly an hour later on Colonial Drive in the parking lot of the Ambassador Hotel.

Jeff Aldophe, 25, was found in a car. He had a gunshot wound and later died at the hospital, police said.

Officials don't have a motive for either case - but said they are not related.

Johnson hopes the community will come together to help solve these crimes.

“I just hope the community bands together and help find out who this person is that would actually shoot someone down,” Johnson said.

Crimeline signs on Colonial Drive are promising up to a $5,000 reward for information.

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