ORLANDO, Fla. – An innocent bystander was struck by a bullet early Wednesday during a drive-by shootout in downtown Orlando, police said.
The woman was shot around 1:30 a.m. near Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard.
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Investigators believe there was a fight downtown which led to the gunfire.
“Within a minute or two of the fight dispersing (the people involved) got in their vehicles and engaged in a block of following each other before it became a shootout,” said Lt. Frank Chisari from the Orlando Police Department.
According to police, witnesses said people in two vehicles were shooting at each other when the woman, who was not involved in the altercation, was struck.
Orlando police said officers found the 40-year-old woman, who was shot in the leg, at Central Boulevard and Court Avenue shortly after the gunfire started. The woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition and is expected to be OK, police said.
“The big thing for us — for the public’s help — is that we know that there was a lot of people downtown, around this fight, around the scene, that we think that people know the people that were involved,” Chisari said. “We would hope that (witnesses) recognize how dangerous it is to make those types of rash decisions and fire a gun downtown in a populated area and now you have an innocent victim that was sitting at a table, enjoying a night with a gunshot wound. And thankfully she’s gonna survive but it’s a horrible, horrible tragedy.”
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No arrests have been made. Police have not released any information about the two vehicles.
A man who works downtown said things need to change.
“Everybody comes downtown to have fun, but it comes to a point to where we need to either step up security or do something,” Isaac Perez said. “(It) makes me sad. Makes a lot of people sad.”
An investigation is ongoing. Check back for updates.