Orange County

Gun violence in Orlando sees 24% uptick compared to last year; officials worry of summer surge

ORLANDO, Fla. — In Florida, gun violence has cut through downtowns, concerts, grocery stores and gas stations.

The rise in gun violence is evident across the nation, too.

According to statistics by the Orlando Police Department, shootings from January to June 2021 are up 24% compared to the same time frame last year.

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“As a community, we need to come together,” Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said.

The number-one question, Rolon said, is why this is happening. But there’s no number-one answer.

Rolon said he would point to lax gun laws, but others would say the person behind the gun is the problem, not the gun.

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But Rolon thinks it’s deeper than that.

“I personally believe is a societal issue that we must address” he said. “We have got to address the culture that feels that is most inclined to engage in that type of activity.”

There’s worry the violence will only get worse, with warnings of summer spikes or surges across the country, including Orlando.

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“So we will probably see an uptick, but rest assured that our resources will be deployed, which we always put a summer plan together, will be deployed to address those potential upticks,” Rolon said.

The summer plan has already been rolled out. It includes bulked-up patrols, overtime for officers, initiatives partnerships, new operations and more crime analysts.

“If we continue to stay on this path where we are talking about it, but we’re not doing something about it, we will lose more lives,” Rolon said.

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.