ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Two people were shot during a heated argument near the Florida Mall in Orange County early Wednesday evening, and the gunman is still on the loose, authorities said.
Alliyah Rivera, 18, died at the scene and a man was taken to the hospital, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to reports of shots fired near the Las Palmas apartment complex on Sand Lake Road and Voltaire Drive in Orlando, where traffic was diverted while investigators worked the scene.
"For real? Wow! Thank God I was not here. I was with the family celebrating New Year's," resident Carmen Figueroa said.
A man who works security for the building said 10 surveillance cameras were recently installed and one of them may have caught the shooter. Orange County detectives are digging through the surveillance video for clues.
Residents were allowed back into the complex around 9:30 p.m.
Some of the residents told WFTV’s Renee Stoll they thought it was New Year’s Day fireworks they were hearing, but it turned out to be anywhere from two to five gunshots toward the back of the complex.
Investigators searched the ground while deputies stood with shotguns and blocked the road to the complex for more than four hours.
“We are looking for the people responsible, obviously they are dangerous, you know, two people were shot,” said Ginette Rodriguez with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses said they saw a red car speed out of the parking lot shortly after the shooting and deputies believe it started with some sort of confrontation inside the apartment complex.
The man who was injured is expected to recover. His name was not released.
WFTV
