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3rd person charged in fatal shooting at Orlando apartment complex

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police say they’ve arrested a third person for their involvement in a shooting that left a young mother dead.

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Orlando police officers responded to the Jernigan Gardens Apartments at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday, September 22 for reports of a large group of people fighting with gunshots fired in the courtyard area.

The responding officers arrived to find 22-year-old Macayla Patterson with a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center to be treated but later died.

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Police say three other people were also shot and treated for injuries described as non-life-threatening.

On the day of the shooting, police arrested 23-year-old Delray Duncan Jr. and charged him with attempted homicide and first-degree murder for his alleged role in the shooting.

Days later, on October 3, police announced the arrest of 18-year-old Gary Lee Williams III on a charge of first-degree murder for his alleged involvement.

Finally, on Thursday, Orlando police announced the arrest of 18-year-old Christian Amari Childs on charges related to the shooting.

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According to the Orlando Police Department, Childs was taken into custody by their Fugitive Investigative Unit Thursday in Osceola County. He’s charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, shooting at, within or into a building, discharging a firearm on residential property and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

According to court documents, videos posted to social media showed a group of people fighting in the Jernigan Apartments courtyard just before the shooting when three men ”broke off from the melee.”

Two of the three men were armed with guns, including one who police say only appeared to pull his gun in self-defense.

The video shows multiple people firing guns and Macayla Patterson being struck by gunfire.

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According to reports, an Orlando Police Department detective was able to identify one of the shooters from the video as Delray Duncan.

Investigators say video from cameras at the apartment complex showed a man later identified as Gary Williams III firing the shot that is believed to have killed Patterson.

Police have not said exactly how they developed Childs as a suspect in the shooting.

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