Two killed, 6 injured in shooting at downtown Orlando amid Halloween celebration

(Reuters): Two people died and six were injured in a shooting in the downtown neighborhood of Orlando, Florida in the midst of Halloween festivities, the regional police department said on Friday, adding that a teenage suspect had been arrested.

The injured people were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) and were stable, according to the police.

The shooting of the eight people took place at around 1 a.m. (0500 GMT), within Orlando’s entertainment district where hundreds of people were celebrating Halloween.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue and within minutes, a second shooting was witnessed by officers south of Washington Street on Orange Avenue, Orlando police department said in a statement.

People in Halloween costumes stood in the incident area as emergency personnel attended to casualties lying in the street, a video, posted on Instagram and verified by Reuters, showed.

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said at a press conference that the alleged gunman, a 17-year-old boy, had been identified and taken into custody.

The police are still conducting an active investigation, Smith said.

The police department was assessing the need for increased patrols downtown this weekend, its statement said.