Downtown Orlando shooting leaves 1 dead, police say

Officers say shooting occurred early Saturday

ORLANDO, Fla. – One man is dead after being found shot in downtown Orlando, according to officials from the Orlando Police Department.

OPD spokesman Daniel Brady said officers found D'Javan S. Gayden, who was 26, lying on a sidewalk around 2:48 a.m. Saturday on West Jefferson Street.

Gayden had already been shot when police arrived and died as a result of his injuries, Brady said.

Police say D'Javan Gayden died from a gunshot injury.

"Unfortunately, I feel horrible for the victim and the family," Matt Crofton said.

Crofton visits downtown often and said he'd never had an issue parking his car on West Jefferson Street.

"There's lots of traffic usually, OPD presence, never been a time that I have felt unsafe," he said.

Officers were patrolling the area when they heard gunshots, before any 911 calls came in, according to police.

"[Officers] immediately began rendering aid and continued those measures until the fire department arrived to take over lifesaving efforts," Brady said.

Brady said detectives and crime scene investigators are actively working on the case. They are now offering a reward up to $5,000 for any information that may lead to an arrest.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact OPD or call Crimeline at 800-423-8477.


About the Author

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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