ORLANDO, Fla. — A jury found 18-year-old Jaylen Edgar guilty on all nine counts in the 2024 downtown Orlando shooting that killed two people and injured seven others.
Edgar was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder. Judge Keith Carsten of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida read the verdict in court.
“Mr. Edgar, a jury assembled from the community with your participation has found you to be guilty as charged in the indictment of nine counts,” Carsten said.
The verdict came after jurors deliberated for about three hours. Edgar was 17 at the time of the shooting but was tried as an adult.
Edgar was found guilty of opening fire just after 1 a.m. Nov. 1, 2024, while an estimated 75,000 people were in downtown Orlando for Halloween.
The two people killed were 19-year-old Timothy Schmidt Jr., a University of Central Florida student, and 25-year-old Tyrek Hill.
The shooting sent shockwaves throughout Orlando the following morning as Mayor Buddy Dyer announced a seven-day local state of emergency that put a curfew inside the Downtown Entertainment District.
The city of Orlando also gradually reopened North Orange Avenue to traffic on Friday and Saturday nights in the month following the shooting.
State Attorney Monique Worrell released a statement following the ruling, saying in part, quote:
“No verdict can undo the suffering caused by these crimes. But this verdict ensures that the defendant is held accountable for the choices he made and the devastating consequences of those choices – consequences that will also be carried by his own family. A reminder that violence leaves a wound far wider than the person who commits it.”
Timothy Schmidt Sr., Schmidt Jr.’s father, said he was relieved the jury did not return a lesser verdict.
“The defense played his cards the way he had them, and he did the best he could with what he had, and he had nothing, but there was always a little doubt in my mind that maybe would come off for the lesser charge,” Schmidt Sr. said. “I’m glad the jury didn’t see that the way.”
Schmidt Sr. said nothing will bring his son back.
“No one ever really understands the connection we had,” he said. “Not only that I loved him, but he loved me back.”
Throughout the trial, survivors of the shooting shared testimony about what happened and how they were affected.
“They were very brave. All of them. I support them forever. They can always reach out to us,” Schmidt Sr. said. “You know, I feel really bad for some of them, especially the ones that need personal attention and care 24/7, can’t drive, have seizures, etc. I mean, the list goes on and on.”
After the verdict, Martavious Reed, who said he is Edgar’s cousin, said he disagreed with the outcome.
“I think it’s wrong,” Reed said. “I think he’s a good kid. He got a good future.”
A possible sentencing hearing for Edgar has been set for Oct. 20. Schmidt Sr. said he plans to give a victim impact statement and read a handwritten note his son wrote years before his death.