A teenager who is accused of killing two people in Orlando on Halloween did not show up to court on Saturday. Instead, he sent his mother instead. Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, 17, was supposed to go before a judge.
He is accused of hurting eight other people and killing two men in downtown Orlando. For some reason, Edgar did not go to court, and his mother showed up, which Fox 35 Orlando called “emotional.” She only spoke for a short time to confirm Edgar’s name.
It is still not clear why he was not in court, though. The judge asked her, “Could you speak into the mic?” “Give yourself a moment to calm down.”
Edgar is likely to be charged as an adult because the charges are so serious, but he is likely to stay in youth detention for now. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and six counts of trying to kill someone in the first degree.
According to the Daily Mail, police said that 19-year-old Timothy Schmidt, a student at the University of Central Florida, was with friends at “The Block,” a famous entertainment area in downtown Orlando, when Edgar is said to have opened fire on the crowd.
At a later time, Schmidt and another young man named Tyrek Hill were declared dead at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
The UCF student’s father, Timothy Schmidt Sr., talked about what happened to The New York Post. He said it broke his heart to lose his “one-of-a-kind” son. Steve was having fun with his friends when we saw him.
The month before I dropped him off at UCF for the summer, Schmidt Sr. said, “He was the best man at my wedding and gave the best speech ever.” “He made everyone cry.” He was like a little me and my best friend. We were so close.
After the shooting, Halloween partygoers dressed up gathered near the scene while first responders treated people who were hurt in the street. At a news conference, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said that the teen suspect had been found and was being held.
During the episode, a 26-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after being stomped on. Edgar apparently ran away and came back a block later, this time near Orange Avenue and Washington Street, where he fired again.
Video of the incident was shared by the police, and it appears that the teenage suspect fired shots into the crowd before being tackled and arrested.
Schmidt Jr. played soccer very well and was in his first year at UCF. He played for Weston FC in the USL League Two. His friends and peers remember him with fondness and say he was a kind, funny, and dedicated person.
