ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Residents in Apopka are still shaken after a shooting sent bullets through homes and vehicles in what they say is a fairly quiet neighborhood, leading to the arrest of a young person.
According to Apopka police, a juvenile was taken into custody Friday following gunfire in the Summerwell Avian Pointe subdivision. While no injuries were reported, multiple homes and cars were left riddled with bullet holes.
Neighbors say the violence unfolded in a matter of seconds.
“You could hear about 20 shots ring out,” one resident said in a video recorded during the chaos.
It’s a video no one expects to capture outside their home.
News 6 reporter Tylisa Hampton spoke with a mother of three who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for her family’s safety. She said the shooting happened just a couple of houses down from where she lives.
“I was very surprised,” she said.
She described how quickly the situation escalated.
“There was a car. You could hear someone ask the boys something, and then they responded. Next thing you know, two shots fire out, a boy dives behind a car. More shots fire out, then another boy dives behind the vehicle,” she recalled.
Police say the shooting occurred in the Summerwell Avian Pointe subdivision. Though the neighborhood has since returned to its usual quiet atmosphere, the mother says the emotional impact remains.
“We don’t want to raise our kids in a place where shootings are an everyday thing,” she said.
When asked whether she feels uneasy letting her children — ages 8, 6, and 1 — play outside, her answer was immediate.
“We’re at the point where we are looking for somewhere else to move immediately.”
With the investigation still ongoing, residents say they are hoping for answers about what led to the gunfire — and reassurance that nothing like this will happen again.
One juvenile was taken into custody and faces charges of shooting into or throwing deadly missiles into dwellings, vehicles or public or private buildings; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill; firing a weapon in public or on residential property; and unlawful possession of a firearm by a person under 18 years of age, according to police.
The age of the juvenile who was arrested has not been released.
An investigation is ongoing.