Man arrested in shooting that wounded 2 in downtown Orlando
A 32-year-old man was arrested Monday morning, accused of wounding a man and a woman in a shooting late Sunday outside a smoke shop in downtown Orlando, according to police.
Wulner Durand faces two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and one count of carrying a concealed firearm. He’s being held without bail at the Orange County Jail.
According to an arrest report, Officer Makenson Chery was patrolling near the corner of North Court Avenue and East Pine Street when he heard gunshots. Bystanders helped identify Durand as the shooter, who was fleeing the scene, the report said.
When officers caught up to Durand he had a gun in his right pocket, Chery wrote. “I was shooting because they were jumping me,” Durand said, according to the report, before refusing to answer questions.
The woman who was shot told police Durand had approached her earlier inside Eden The Lounge and asked her and a friend if they wanted “to make extra money while partying,” according to the report. The victim said yes but her friend’s boyfriend got into a fight with Durand, the report said.
The group was kicked out of the lounge, the victim said.
Later, the woman said she was outside Dank Smoke Shop on North Court when Durand approached her group and started arguing, which led to a fight. That’s when he pulled his gun and started shooting, she said.
The second victim, a man who was checking IDs at the door to the nightclub Celine Orlando, said he heard gunfire and fell to the ground for cover. He said he briefly “blacked out” before running inside the nightclub, where he stayed until rescuers arrived.
Both victims were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center and are expected to recover.
The shooting is the latest of a series of violent late-night incidents downtown, which have left some residents and workers feeling unsafe and prompted city leaders to adopt new security protocols.
After a July 31 shooting left seven people injured, the city adopted “controlled entry” checkpoints at key downtown intersections, hoping to detect people entering the area with illegal weapons.
The City Council is also considering a package of other measures, including stepped-up enforcement of its noise ordinance, requiring private parking lots to hire security and new late-night bars to craft and submit safety plans.
Commissioners were expected to give final approval to the new rules last week, but the vote was delayed until later this month.
