EXCLUSIVE: Shooting of 28 Windows at 18 Businesses in Downtown Orlando by Alleged Drive-By Shooter

EXCLUSIVE: 7:50pm Monday January 11, 2016
By Mark Baratelli 

This story is developing. Check back for more. 

UPDATE: 1/12/16: Just 4 days prior to this event, 4 car windows were shot out in Baldwin Park with what police say could be pellet guns. READ MORE HERE

Over the weekend, more than 28 windows of Downtown Orlando businesses were shot at by what the Orlando Police Department believe to be a person or persons driving a car. 

Orlando Police Department arrived on the scene at 5:16am Monday morning and filed a report saying a "suspect(s) possibly used a pellet gun to damage the windows as they drove past the businesses."

Most of the windows shattered completely, forcing the businesses to cover the windows with wood. 

The windows belonged to small and large businesses along Colonial, Orange Blossom Trail and Orange Aves. 

The event happened sometime this weekend. 

We collected and created this list of victims: 
  1. Firehouse Subs - 2217 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 5 windows
  2. Helmly Mattress Warehouse  - 62 West Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32801 - 4 windows
  3. Nix & Black Automotive - 421 N. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL - 3 windows
  4. General Consulate of Haiti in Orlando - 1616 E Colonial Drive Orlando, 32803 - 3 windows
  5. Orlando Ballet - 2211 N. Orange Ave, Orlando, FL - 3 windows
  6. Forever Beautiful Tattoo - 1809 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32801 1 window
  7. Vision Max - 1020 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 
  8. Saigon Market - 1021 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32801 1 window
  9. Ngoc Thu Jewelry 1240 E Colonial Dr Orlando, FL 1 window
  10. Lynn Fashion Alterations & Chinese Dresses 1244 E. Colonial Dr. 1 window
  11. Snap! Orlando - 1013 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 1 window
  12. Plus Skate House - 1646 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 3 windows
  13. Game Stop - 2907 E Colonial Dr Orlando, FL 32803 - 1 window
  14. Sprint - 3021 E Colonial Dr , Orlando, FL 32803 -1 window
  15. Bikkluri Sushi Noodle & Grill - 1915 Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 
  16. vacant building - 212 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32801 
  17. vacant building - 10 W Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32803 
  18. Little One Pediatrics - 810 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32801 
The case narrative inside the police report written by Officer Douglas Cote at 5:16am on Monday January 11th states as follows: 
  • On 1/11/2016, I, Officer Cote (16904), responded to the E Colonial Dr for multiple windows and doors to business that have been shattered. 
  • When I arrived on scene, there were multiple business that had their windows broken. It does not appear that any entry was made to the businesses. It appears the suspect(s) possibly used a pellet gun to damage the windows as they drove past the businesses. There were no independent witness or access to any camera systems. 
  • Made contact with Mike Rhodes with Code Enforcement responded to the scene to board up all windows.
One of the businesses not listed on this police report was Nix + Black Automotive, located on Orange Blossom Trail across the street from the Parliament House. On Monday afternoon, the owner of the automotive shop said 8 other businesses had called into the police regarding shattered windows prior to him calling in Saturday morning around 7:30am about the same thing. 

He said at the time of his call, police hadn't decided if the damage was caused by a 22 or a pellet rifle. 

No illegal activity's captured by the automotive shops security cameras. The cost of the repair will be $1,200 per window. His damage included one fully shattered window and two with bullet-style marks. The marks were near the top of the two windows. 

Monday we spoke with a window repairman who's business card we found wedged inside the door frame of Snap! Orlando, a locally-owned photo and art gallery. He first heard about the damaged windows on Saturday at 1pm. 

He said in the 20 years he's been doing glass repair, he's "never seen a worse case of vandalism." He said that day alone he'd already been in contact with 13 small businesses about 28 shattered windows and a second company, Fox Glass, had answered calls from 6 businesses. 

He believed the weapon used in the damaging of all these windows was a CO2-powered gun.

He said he spoke with the owner of Plus One Skate Shop, one of the businesses that had its windows shot out, and the owner told him the same thing happened a month prior. A white car was captured on camera during that event a month ago as well as during the event this weekend. 

Nix & Black Automotive: One window was completely shattered.

Nix & Black Automotive: A second window received this shot mark.
Nix & Black Automotive: A third window received this shot mark. 
Orlando Ballet - 2211 N. Orange Ave - 3 shattered windows
Helmly Mattress Warehouse  - 62 West Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 3280 - 4 shattered windows
Empty retail space next door to SNAP! Orlando at 1013 E Colonial Dr
Snap! Orlando - 1013 E Colonial Dr 
Saigon Market Saigon Market - 1021 E Colonia Dr 
Ngoc Thu Jewelry - 1240 E Colonial Dr 
Lynn Fashion Alterations & Chinese Dresses 1244 E. Colonial Dr. 
Forever Beautiful Tattoo - 1809 E colonial Dr
NAT Wireless - 1219 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803
General Consulate of Haiti in Orlando - 1616 E Colonial Dr
Plus Skate House - 1646 E Colonial Dr
Game Stop - 2907 E Colonial Dr
Firehouse Subs - 2217 E Colonial Dr - 5 windows damaged
Sprint - 3021 E Colonial Dr , Orlando, FL 32803

Have a tip about Orlando-area development? Send it to mark@thedailycity.com.