Disturbing footage of a Florida man being gunned down by Orlando police was released by authorities on Monday and has been circulating on the internet. The deceased, identified as Johnathan Flores, was killed outside a restaurant in downtown Orlando on April 20 after he discharged a gun in the air, which caused panic among a crowd.
The incident followed on the heels of a physical altercation between two people, according to a local Orlando news report. Flores is believed to be one of the individuals involved. The other individual is a woman who can be seen smacking his hat off his head while another man intervenes. At one point, a gun falls out of Flores’ pants.
A surveillance video of the confrontation, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. outside the Thrive Cocktail Lounge and Eatery, shows him retrieving the weapon. He later aimed his gun in the air and discharged it once, which caused nearby people to scamper away.
According to an audio recording of a 911 call, a woman hiding in a restaurant bathroom told the police that she heard gunshots and people screaming. The released bodycam footage from the responding officers shows them approaching the 38-year-old suspect, who was still armed. Officers had their guns drawn as they instructed Flores to get down on the ground.
Flores is bent over to seemingly fetch something from the ground, but when officers close in on him with commands, he begins to turn to face them with the gun in his hand. This is when the officers open fire, shooting him several times. It is currently the exact number of gunshots he sustained. Flores was later pronounced dead at the Orlando Regional Medical Centre. According to reports, no officers were injured during the incident.
An investigation into the incident was launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
