Teenager footballer Tim Schmidt Jr killed in Halloween shooting in Orlando as 17-year-old charged with murder

Last Friday (November 1) two people were killed and six others injured at 1am in downtown Orlando, Florida. It came while the city was celebrating Halloween, with police reporting that thousands of people were in the area when the gunfire began.

Jaylen Dwayne Edgar, 17, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and six counts of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, say police.

While those who were injured are receiving treatment at Orlando Regional Medical Centre, one of the dead victims has been identified as Weston FC footballer Timothy Schmidt Jr.

A club statement from Weston FC said: “Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the family of Timothy Schmidt Jr, a Weston FC alum, who tragically lost his life far too soon at the age of 19 in a senseless shooting in Orlando in the early morning of November 1.

“Tim was a vibrant, smart, fun loving, young man and quite the baller who had just started college at UCF. The Weston FC family is deeply saddened by this tragedy and our prayers are with his family.

“May he rest in peace.”

A GoFundMe has been launched by the Nu Delta chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi of the University of Central Florida, to support Schmidt Jr’s surviving family. The fundraiser’s tribute to the footballer added: “He was an extraordinary person, loving son, caring friend, talented soccer player, astounding teammate, kind soul, hardworking student and individual with an extremely warm heart and a witty sense of humor.”

Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith said: “We had about 100 officers who are working the detail, spread out - the officers responded very quickly, the officers did a great job. They responded right when they heard the shooting.

“You know, everybody else is running, they're not: They're sitting in position looking for a shooter. They found the shooter.”

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has declared a local state of emergency, with alcohol sales ending at midnight and a curfew between 1-5am.