(Image via nbcbayarea.com)

Staff Writer: Gwen Pichette

Email: gpichette@umassd.edu

An unassuming Halloween celebration soon turned deadly when a 17-year-old opened fire into crowds of 50,000 people, killing two and wounding eight others. 

According to the Orlando Police Department, the two victims have been identified as 25-year-old Tyrek Hill and 19-year-old Timothy Schmidt Jr. 

As horrific as this tragedy was, it did not come as a surprise to people who knew the suspect personally. 

The suspect, Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, was referred to as a “ticking time bomb with a history of behavioral problems.” 

Veronica Guiterrez, who has known the teen since he was young, said there were certainly signs of this: “He was always getting in trouble. He had a temper and was just not someone who could be controlled.”

Directly following the shooting, Edgar also allegedly told deputies that he was under extreme stress and had witnessed a lot of loved ones die. It is believed that this is what pushed him to do this.

Even more chilling, authorities unknowingly interacted with Edgar a mere 30 minutes prior to the killings and claimed that he was exhibiting strange behavior. 

At around 12:40 AM, Edgar reportedly climbed into the back of an Orlando Fire Department Ambulance, lying down on the stretcher despite nothing physically being wrong with him. 

When an officer grabbed Edgar and told him to get out, an official report stated that “Edgar told (the officer) not to touch him before continuing northbound on Orange Avenue.” That very same officer who told him to get out of the ambulance would be the one to tackle Edgar moments after the shooting. 

All these warning signs before this tragedy leave many asking: could this have been prevented? 

This is already the 27th mass shooting this year and the 400th across the nation. 

Edgar has since been charged with two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

Despite still being a minor at 17 years old, according to State Attorney Andrew Bain, there is no question as to whether he will be charged as an adult: 

“To shoot into a massive crowd like that shows a total disregard for life, and the only recourse is to charge the defendant as an adult because it fits the egregious nature of the crime.”

When asked about where he found the gun, which was hidden in his waistband, Edgar told detectives that he “found it early in the day at another location.”

This has raised many questions as to the easy accessibility to firearms in the U.S.

Including the first victim’s mother, Tyrek Hill, who is questioning how this was even possible: “Not only was it a tragedy for my son, but for everybody who was involved and who died at the hands of a 17-year-old child. That is what I still want to know: How did he get this gun?”

She, along with Hill’s other grieving family members, have organized a GoFundMe in honor of him, which will go towards a foundation to help fight gun violence. At the time of this publication, $14,000 of the $50,000 goal has been raised for Tyrek. 

The father of the second victim, Tim Schmidt Sr., also publicly mourned the loss of his son, Timothy Schmidt Jr., via Facebook. 

As a founder of a marketing company, he was trying to spread the word about the GoFundMe:  

“I know I have some of the best marketers in the world in my circle, and this is the only time I’ll ever ask for a share, tweet, YouTube, Insta, or wherever you have an audience,” concluding the post with “Let’s go f–king viral for my best friend, my only child, and my pride and joy, Tim Schmidt Jr.”

The victims, Tyrek Hill and Timothy Schmidt Jr., are pictured below. 

It also did not go unnoticed that the massacre was just a few blocks from the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting—the 2016 massacre that left 49 people dead and countless injured. 

Mayor Buddy Dyer opened a press conference Friday with a statement expressing the unfortunate familiarity of fatal shootings in the community, saying, “It’s unfortunate that we have to be here again today.” 

He ended with a statement of unity in the community:

“Our community is devastated again following a tragedy that took unfortunately the lives of two individuals and forever changed the lives of many others. Our collective thoughts and supports are with the families of the victims and also with those who were injured.”