ORLANDO, Fla. — A male carjacking suspect was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon after an Orlando Police officer shot him, Chief Orlando Rolón says.
- Officer opens fire on armed carjacking suspect
- Shooting stems from attempted kidnapping, police say
- Identity of police officer who opened fire not released
No officers were injured.
Rolón said during a news conference that the shooting happened near West Colonial Drive and Tampa Avenue, but there were several crime scenes.
According to investigators, at about 10 a.m., an Orlando Police sergeant was doing surveillance along Westmoreland Drive in the Parramore neighborhood of Orlando when he spotted a man being pulled into a vehicle by two other men.
The sergeant radioed what he saw and followed the vehicle but lost it.
On Ross Place and Stryker Street, one of the men bailed out of the vehicle and tried to carjack a woman in a black Nissan sedan on the 2100 block of West Colonial Drive, Rolón said.
Another Orlando police officer witnessed this. Officers took a man into custody at that scene.
Meanwhile, the man who bailed out of the first vehicle couldn't get into the Nissan sedan, so "he went away from the area," Rolón said. "Our officers obviously tried to engage him, and at that point, he was armed with weapons, and a shooting took place."
Rolón did not specify the exact circumstances of the shooting.
Update: Pictured are the suspect’s guns recovered at the carjacking scene. pic.twitter.com/gZ6HP6SXQi
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) January 29, 2020
Suspect had two guns on him. Officer-involved shooting happened. Suspect is in hospital in critical condition @MyNews13 #news13orange
— Rebecca Turco (@RebeccaTurcoTV) January 29, 2020
The man, who was later identified by police as 29-year-old Trave Billings, was taken to a hospital and was in critical but stable condition, Rolón said. He faces charges of armed kidnapping with a firearm, armed carjacking, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The other man who was taken into custody was identified as 29-year-old De'Angelo Stephenson. He faces charges of armed kidnapping and armed carjacking.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, which is standard practice when officers fire their weapons in the line of duty. Police identified Officer Kyle Medvetz as the officer who fired his weapon, and he's been relieved of duty with pay during the investigation, which is also standard protocol.
No officers hurt. Chief isn’t saying much about the attempted kidnapping at this time. @MyNews13
— Rebecca Turco (@RebeccaTurcoTV) January 29, 2020
Eastbound lanes of Colonial Drive between John Young Parkway and North Tampa Avenue were closed for the investigation.
Reporters Rebecca Turco and Rachael Krause contributed to this story.