‘Find justice for my niece:’ 3 killed, 2 injured in shooting at Orlando park

Shooting happened in the 5400 block of Lescot Lane

ORLANDO, Fla. – Three people were killed and two others were injured Sunday evening in a shooting at an Orlando park, police said.

The Orlando Police Department said officers were called around 6:50 p.m. to Poppy Park in the 5400 block of Lescot Lane.

Police initially reported that two of the victims were fatally shot before updating the case Monday afternoon, saying a third victim died.

Police identified the victims as Jamal Watson, 38; Tristan Morgan, 16; and Patriza Deterville, 33.

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An adult victim remains in critical condition, and another adult victim suffered a non-life-threatening injury, police said.

Anita Emilien, the aunt of Deterville, said her niece, who was known as Pat, was sitting on her grandmother’s porch when was struck by a bullet.

“I would like to just find justice for my niece,” said Emilien, who added that Deterville leaves behind four children, including a newborn.

News 6 spoke with the grandmother, who wanted to remain anonymous. She said she’s tired of gun violence.

She said the 33-year-old, who is her granddaughter-in-law, and her granddaughter, who is fighting for her life in the hospital, were both sitting on her front porch enjoying family on Easter when they were caught in the crossfire.

“If you’ve got beef or whatever you don’t have to kill them,” she said. “They didn’t only hurt them, they hurting our family.”

Neighbors told News 6 the shooting happened during or after an Easter egg hunt at the park after some kind of argument, though police have not said what led to the shooting.

“Everyone who saw who did it, please, please, report it to the police, to the news, everywhere. She’s too young. She’s too young,” Emilien said.

Orlando Commissioner Bakari Burns, who covers this district, said the community and elected leaders have to work together to fight crime.

“We need to have some larger discussions amongst the leaders about what do we need to continually do to curb this violence,” Burns said.

Burns said the city of Orlando has made many investments, but more is needed.

Orlando police said rumors about the shooting posted on social media were incorrect.

“There are false rumors circulating on social media that a toddler passed away as a result of this incident. We ask the media and public for patience and cooperation as we work through this tragic incident so that we can obtain facts of what occurred,” police said in a statement.

Police said all the individuals involved in the shooting are accounted for and detectives are not looking for anyone else.

An investigation is ongoing.

The shooting happened hours after a domestic violence incident led to a shooting that left a woman and two children dead.

This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for updates.


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About the Authors

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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