ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando police officers shot at a carjacking suspect who tried to run them over in a shopping plaza on Universal Boulevard Wednesday afternoon, Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolon said.
Rolon said the incident began around noon. Someone who was trying to sell a silver Mitsubishi was with the suspect, who was posing as a potential buyer, and when they stopped at a gas station on Semoran Boulevard, the suspect got control of the vehicle and sped off, according to authorities.
A helicopter unit was used to track the vehicle and eventually, officers surrounded it at a shopping plaza on Universal Boulevard. Rolon said the suspect refused to surrender despite being surrounded. He back up into the front window of a spa, shattering it completely, then drove toward the officers, at which point they opened fire, Rolon said.
Anjli Cummings, who owns a yoga studio next door to the spa, said she saw the vehicle back up into the spa and saw officers open fire.
"He looked pretty aggressive. He looked like he didn't care who he hurt. He just took off. It was pretty split second so I don't know what was going on in the guy's head, but he didn't care who he hurt from what I could see," Cummings said.
Police said they used a helicopter unit and a tracking device called StarChase to follow the vehicle's movements after the man fled from the shopping plaza. Rolon said the suspect crashed into an elderly couple in the State Road 417 area and a K-9 officer's patrol vehicle as authorities were trying to box him in in an industrial area.
The incident ended when the suspect crashed into a fence in the Lake Nona area near State Road 417. Rolon said the man behind that wheel got out of the vehicle as if he were going to try to flee, but then surrendered when he saw officers were prepared to deploy a K-9 unit.
The man suffered at least one gunshot wound, officials said. He was taken to nearby Nemours Hospital then transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for further treatment. His injuries were considered non-life-threatening.
Rolon said the suspect, who has not been identified, showed a complete disregard for human life and it's fortunate that no one else was injured.
"He put a lot of people’s lives in danger when he chose to do what he did here. The fact that he stole the car, the way that he stole the car… knowing that he, really, had no way out but yet chose to drive toward our officers in the process, really goes to show that he really doesn’t care for much other than himself,” Rolon said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate, which is standard procedure in police-involved shootings. Officials have not said how many officers fired their weapons.