LAKE MARY, Fla. – The family of Daniel Strada, a 28-year-old man hit by a stray bullet during a shooting at a shopping center across the street in unincorporated Lake Mary over the weekend, said he has died of his injuries.
Deputies said Victor Emanuel Brown, 35, of Orlando, was also killed during the 2:06 a.m. Sunday shooting at Colonial Town Park Plaza.
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"We want it to be known that (Strada) was an innocent bystander over 300 feet away from the incident," the Strada family told News 6 Monday.
Authorities with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office identified the shooter Monday as Jorge Vega-Rosado, 26, of Orange City, and said he was acting in self-defense when he killed Brown. Deputies said Brown first pulled a gun on Vega-Rosado and fired a shot, missing Vega-Rosado and hitting Strada, an innocent bystander at a nearby restaurant.
In fear for his life, Rosado fired his weapon multiple times, fatally shooting Brown, according to the report.
"According to witnesses, several patrons at Graffiti Junktion got into a verbal argument and were asked to leave," according to the sheriff's office news release. "The subjects left the establishment; however, the situation escalated and at least one subject fired multiple rounds from a handgun, striking the first victim."
After consulting with the state attorney’s office, the sheriff's office said that Vega-Rosado acted in self-defense and will not be charged.
Strada's family said that during the shooting, a bullet traveled across the street to the patio area of Liam Fitzpatrick's Irish Bar and Grill were Strada was laughing with friends when he was hit. The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said he was taken to the hospital and was in critical condition. His family confirmed on Monday he had died.
"There was a fight that broke out, the cops ran over, and gunshots just went off and somehow they hit one of the people that was in front of our restaurant, but the fight was happening over by Dexter's on that side of the street," a 911 caller said.
The 911 caller said Strada was shot in the head.
After the shooting, deputies said that Vega-Rosado cooperated with authorities.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said the case is complicated and investigators will not jump to conclusions, which is why they waited until Monday evening to release more information.
On Monday afternoon, Greg Peters, the president of Graffiti Junktion, released this statement about the shooting:
"We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the Plaza Saturday night and our prayers go out to all the families involved. We have reviewed the video taken by our security camera and there were no altercations inside the Graffiti Junktion premises. None of the parties involved in the confrontation were asked to leave our restaurant and the gentleman who was shot was hugging his friends as he left for the evening with his girlfriend. At this point we do not know what transpired outside of our location but we are cooperating with the authorities. The police have always done a good job in the Complex and we are confident they will just determine exactly what transpired"