ORLANDO, Fla. – A 15-year-old shot and killed a 16-year-old Thursday afternoon in Orange County, according to Sheriff John Mina.
The shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. at Vogt-Meloon Park off Oak Ridge Road, involving 15-year-old Jacori Redding and 16-year-old Pinien Dalmacy, Mina said at a news conference Friday.
”Both of them were sophomores and had their entire lives ahead of them," Mina said. “(...) When our deputies arrived, they found Pinien, who had been shot twice. So there were a number of witnesses on scene who said that earlier in the day that Jacori had bumped into Pinien on the school campus. (Pinien) had told Jacori to apologize. He would not. The two agreed to meet after school off campus to fight at the park.”
The campus — that of Oak Ridge High School — was placed on lockdown after the shooting, according to the sheriff.
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The alleged shooter was soon located in the cafeteria and was detained by a school resource officer, the sheriff said.
“He was also in possession of the gun,” Mina said of Redding, who was arrested to face charges of manslaughter with a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.
Dalmacy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
Tamehsha Mills-Destine says her son was close friends with the Dalmacy and she was close with his family. She came back to the basketball court on Friday to look for anything he had left there after he was shot.
“He was an angel in the flesh,” she said. “To hear another child that you didn’t give birth to say ‘I’ll see you later, Ma, I love you,’ that do something to a person that loves children.”
“We need more than people to enforcing rules. All children are not the same, sometimes they need extra support, extra support, they need help!” she added.
Mina said there were additional patrols at the campus Friday and called for any additional witnesses to the shooting to provide any information or video that they could, asking that tips go to Crimeline at 800-423-8477 if anyone would prefer to remain anonymous.
“It’s unfortunate how this whole thing started because some witnesses said that it started (when) the two just bumped into each other at school and that led to a fight which led to a deadly shooting,” Mina said.
In a statement, Orange County Public Schools said, “This occurred after dismissal. Students and staff that remain on campus are safe.” The lockdown was lifted shortly after.
Orange County patrol vehicles remained near the park into the evening as detectives collected evidence. Video from the scene showed several people gathering nearby as deputies blocked off the area.
“I think we are always looking at opportunities to improve. We have layered security in place now and we can’t disclose those,” said Scott Howat, chief communications officer for the sheriff’s office.
Howart also said this was an off-campus incident and their schools are safe.
An investigation remains ongoing.
News 6 is naming both teens due to the circumstances of the case.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.