ORLANDO, Fla. — A 17-year-old suspect in a shooting who killed two people and injured seven others during a Halloween party that drew 75,000 revelers to the streets of downtown Orlando, Florida, last week has been charged as an adult, a prosecutor said Monday.
Jaylen Edgar was charged as an adult with two counts of murder and attempted murder, although the case will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide to upgrade the charge to first-degree murder, State’s Attorney Andrew Bain said. .
“This decision was not made lightly and only after reviewing all available evidence,” Bain said at a news conference in Orlando.
Edgar is accused of opening fire during a Halloween street party that drew tens of thousands of costumed revelers to downtown Orlando’s bar and restaurant district early Friday. In addition to the two men who were killed, seven more people were injured and a woman was trampled as people fled in panic, Orlando police said.
One of the dead and another injured were students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Edgar was tackled at the scene by some of the 100 police officers patrolling downtown Orlando.
Factors in the decision to charge Edgar as an adult included “the brutal nature of the crime” and the fact that multiple people were shot, the prosecutor said.
“To shoot into such a huge crowd shows a total disregard for life and the only option is to charge the defendant as an adult as this fits the blatant nature of the crime,” Bain said. “This was a blatant execution in the middle of our streets, and that is something we cannot have in our community.”
There was no online court docket for Edgar, so it could not be determined whether he had an attorney. Moreover, the case originated in juvenile court, where the files are not public. An email to the Orange County Public Defender’s office requesting information was not immediately returned Monday.
Bain would not reveal whether authorities were aware of a motive and said detectives were still trying to figure out how he got the gun.
One of the largest events in downtown Orlando each year, the Halloween party takes place about 10 miles from Orlando’s tourist district and mainly attracts Central Florida residents.
In response to the shootings, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer declared a local emergency for the downtown entertainment district last Friday. Under the weeklong order, alcohol sales will end at midnight and there will be a curfew from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.
During previous Halloween celebrations, police closed down downtown streets and used dogs to search for weapons as people walked past entry points, but they stopped that after Florida lawmakers passed. a permit-free concealed carry law in 2023.