ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Two window installers were shot while on the job in a Winter Park neighborhood, prompting a multi-agency search that ended with two suspects in custody, according to police.
Frederick Callaway and James Robinson made their first court appearance and are being held without bond at the Seminole County Jail. Authorities say the pair faces six charges, including discharging a firearm in public.
Investigators said the shooting happened after the suspects stole equipment from workers at a home under construction. When the installers tried to intervene, police say the suspects opened fire.
Javier Riano, owner of Rigal Windows, said he received a call that two of his employees had been shot.
“One of my guys got shot three times and just laid down on the floor in the middle of the road, and the other one got shot twice and same thing — laid down in the middle of the road,” Riano said.
Both workers are recovering at Orlando Health, according to Riano. He said one employee was shot in the stomach, thigh and groin area, while the other was shot in the leg and thigh.
Authorities said evidence markers were found near the job site, where the workers had been installing windows. The suspects then fled, leading law enforcement on an approximately 18-mile pursuit that ended in Lake Mary, police said.
Neighbors described the moment the violence unfolded.
“We heard three gunshot sounds, but I thought it was a nail gun thing, and then we started hearing screaming and running,” said neighbor Vivy Day.
Sebastian Reeves said the workers were simply trying to protect their equipment.
“All they were trying to do was protect what is their equipment. It’s just wrong place, wrong time. I just feel so bad,” Reeves said.
Riano said the emotional toll on his employees has been significant, with some now fearful about returning to work.
“I was talking with my guys today and they were saying, ‘Dude, I am afraid to go back to work. I might get a gun — at least I’ll feel safer with a gun,’” he said.
Riano asked that the names of the injured workers not be released, saying they are like family to him.
His wife, Diana, is in the process of setting up a GoFundMe to support the victims’ recovery.