ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Police are investigating a shooting early Sunday that left one person dead in the middle of downtown.

What You Need To Know

  •  Police responded to downtown Orlando early Sunday to reports of gunshots

  •  When officers arrived, they found a man dead in the area of Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard

  • Businesses in the area worry that this type of incident could scare off customers

Police received calls about gunshots near Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard around 2:30 a.m., just after closing time for bars and businesses.

When officers arrived, they found Joseph Torres, 34, dead.

Investigators said Torres was walking on Orange Avenue and had just turned onto Central Boulevard in the moments before the shooting.

A group of people were standing near the building at 20 North Orange Avenue and as Torres tried to walk through them, he was blocked by the shooting suspect, police said.

There was a physical altercation and the suspect fired a gun, killing Torres, investigators said.

Police closed off Orange Avenue between Central Boulevard and Pine Street. This part of downtown Orlando is busy at that time of the morning as bargoers make their way home.

“I saw the rush of people, then I heard after that someone got shot,” said Wayne Harvey, the owner of Jam-Eng.

Harvey and his wife Caroline own Jam-Eng, a business they have had on Orange Avenue for about four years. They said they were working Saturday night and closed early but didn't open Sunday morning as Orange Avenue was closed.

“We are off to a slow start that is understandable,” he said.

Harvey said he believes the shooting could impact his business in the future.

“It could, whenever something like happens it always slows the area down with people coming in,” he said.

Overall, some business owners said the feel downtown is a safe and police do the best they can. Caroline Harvey said she would like to see a centralized entrance for bars in downtown.

“You have got the same security the same way they are going into Wall Street. If there was a way to put some sort of fencing or something temporarily on the weekend, that way we know people that are in the secure area have been checked for knifes, guns, anything that causes a problem,” she said.

Other business tell Spectrum News 13 they were a lot slower than usual as well Sunday. Jam-Eng did re-open this afternoon.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Crimeline at **8477 or 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).