OCOEE, Fla. – Old Winter Garden Road in Ocoee was shut down on Thursday evening after a nearby officer-involved shooting left a shoplifting suspect in the hospital.
The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. on Old Winter Garden Road between Hempel Avenue and Good Homes Road.
During a news conference, Acting Police Chief Vincent Ogburn said that officers received a call about a shoplifting incident at a Walmart along West Colonial Drive.
By the time police arrived, both suspects had already left the store, getting into a green pickup truck with an out-of-state license plate and driving away, Ogburn explained.
Police said officers found the truck in a nearby parking lot, where it crashed into an officer’s patrol car.
“The officers located the vehicle in one of the surrounding streets. As they tried to stop it, they went into one of the other local parking lots and struck one of the vehicles that was trying to hit him,” Ogburn said.
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The truck then drove back onto Old Winter Garden Road, though it stopped soon afterward, Ogburn stated.
One of the suspects — a juvenile — then got out of the passenger side, raising his hand while holding something, according to Ogburn.
As a result, the officer believed the juvenile was carrying a weapon, and the officer shot him, Ogburn said. The juvenile was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Ogburn did not provide any details about what was in that suspect’s hand, though he said that investigators are checking to see whether any weapons were inside the truck.
Meanwhile, the suspect driving the vehicle — identified as Gregorio Moreno, 48 — was taken to the hospital with minor “unrelated injuries,” Ogburn added.
“He wasn’t hurt at all. He was talking to us,” Ogburn said on Thursday. “We don’t know what his condition is.”
In a release on Friday, police said the juvenile and Moreno knew each other, though officers didn’t specify how.
Moreno faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, retail theft and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Police said there could be additional pending charges for both Moreno and the juvenile who was shot.
The agency asked people to avoid driving in that area as they continue their investigation. They suggested using State Road 50 as an alternate route.
The Ocoee Police Department is actively working an Officer involved shooting on Old Winter Garden Rd just east of Hempel Ave. Please take alternate routes on SR 50 as Old Winter Garden Rd will be closed during the investigation.
— Ocoee Police (@OcoeePD) February 15, 2024
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has begun investigating the officer-involved shooting, as is standard policy.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact Ocoee police at (407) 905-3160 or Crimeline at (407) 423-8477.
No additional information has been provided at this time, including whether the shot suspect was an adult or a minor.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for updates.
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