16-year-old boy shot in Orlando Hooters parking lot

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police officers are searching for the gunman who shot a 16-year-old boy outside the Hooters on South Kirkman Road in Orlando.

It happened just after 6 p.m. Monday in the restaurant parking lot, just blocks from Universal Studios. Witnesses said the teenager drove himself to Dr. Phillips Hospital with an injury to his face.

Kim, a witness, said he was eating at the time of the gunfire.

"I was on the outside sitting and it was a shooting, the other men were shooting at us," he said.

Kim didn't leave until hours later after he became a witness to the crime, leaving eventually with blood on his shirt.

"He said, you know, 'call the 911, I'm dying'. So, I said okay. I asked him to lay down and while he was laying down he smeared all the blood on my back," Kim said of the victim.

Police said the shooting stemmed from an argument in the back of the parking lot. The suspect and victim may have known each other.

Bryan West, who was at a nearby apartment complex, also heard the shooting.

"We tried to get him to not drive himself to the hospital, but he hopped in the car and drove himself with a shirt against his face," West said.

Police picked up the gun in the parking lot but are not sure if it belongs to the suspect or the victim. They also picked up clothes and jewelry.

A neighboring empty building had a shattered window. Police originally believed it had been hit, but the property owner told investigators it was from a previous incident.

Hooters managers put up a sign on the door Monday night that read "Due to unforeseen circumstances we are closed for the evening. We will reopen tomorrow."

Police say the victim is going to be okay. Witnesses say he was grazed by the bullet.

Police are looking for a newer black Nissan Altima with possible damage to the driver's side window.? 


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