ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A 38-year-old man was arrested after he shot another man in the stomach Sunday afternoon during an argument at a busy basketball court in Shadow Bay Park, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they were called to 5100 Turkey Lake Road around 2:47 p.m. and found the victim on the ground near the basketball courts. About 20 bystanders were gathered “yelling, screaming, and videotaping the crime scene.”
A witness told deputies that a large crowd had been playing basketball when two men — later identified as the victim and the suspect — began arguing near the benches. The witness said he did not know what sparked the dispute but saw people trying to break it up.
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According to a news release, the suspect – later identified as Byron Dante Southward – walked to a silver car parked next to the court, grabbed a small black bag and returned to the benches. Southward continued arguing with the victim, pushed him, then pulled a black pistol from the bag and shot the victim in the stomach.
Deputies said the witness then ran to a nearby playground to warn parents to get their children and leave the park, and did not see what happened after the gunfire.
According to the release, Southward was arrested and taken to the Orange County jail without incident.
He faces charges of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Amanda Hadix said she was at the park when she heard what she immediately recognized as a gunshot.
“I just heard a crack … single gunshot … I go to the range so I know the sound,” Hadix said.
Hadix said there was little immediate reaction from those nearby.
“No yelling. No screaming, no running,” she said. “And just a few seconds later, the gentleman that works here on the weekends comes up in the cart and starts yelling, ‘Get everybody, get in your cars and leave. Get in your cars and leave now!’”
A park employee who witnessed the shooting drove from the basketball court to the playground area to warn families to take their children and leave, according to witnesses.
“It kind of surprised me because there wasn’t a reaction from people around,” Hadix said. “It’s like, did they not recognize the sound to react? Or are they so used to it that, why react?”
What unsettled many families was the proximity of the violence to the children’s playground, located just steps from the basketball court.
Genelli Cedeno, a mother who frequents the park, said the shooting hit close to home.
“Say, accidentally went in that area. Someone gets shot. Being a mom, being a son, sister like, it’s very fun and terrifying. Honestly, I’m, like, getting emotional about it, honestly,” Cedeno said.
Authorities have not released details about what led to the argument or provided an update on the victim’s condition. The investigation remains ongoing.