Orlando, Florida, police disclosed the identity of the two men slain in a Halloween shooting in downtown Orlando last week.
Tyrek Hill, 25, and Timothy Schmidt Jr., 19, were murdered Friday when a shooter opened fire just after 1 a.m. at a Halloween party, authorities said.
Seven persons, aged 18 to 39, were hurt — six with gunshot wounds and a seventh from being crushed as the mob ran, authorities said.
Those who knew Schmidt recalled their friend in conversations with NBC South Florida.
One of Schmidt’s instructors at the Plantation FC Rush soccer team characterized him as “humble.”
“Sweetest person I ever coached in my life,” Anis Jerbi, the club’s director, told the broadcaster. “I saw a great person, great future ahead of him, but God knows what he’s doing with these good people.”
A friend of Schmidt’s, Tan Bei, termed him “good people” and stated, “When you think about him, not a single negative thought appears.”
Police took 17-year-old Jaylen Dwayne Edgar into custody. According to authorities, he faces six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of first-degree murder with a handgun.
There is no proven motivation. Investigators are trying to figure out how the shooter got the gun, police said Friday, adding that the suspect was not cooperating.
Police Chief Eric Smith stated during a press conference on Friday that Halloween is one of Orlando’s biggest evenings of the year, with crowds of between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
Orlando police released CCTV footage showing the gunman moving through the throng before he seemed to raise his right hand and start shooting, scattering the crowd as gunshots erupted.
Shortly after the gunfire, Smith said, the gunman was tackled by the roughly 100 police officers on duty in the neighborhood. According to the police-released footage, three people rush to assist in the attacker’s arrest after an officer knocks him down.
