Orlando police on Friday said an attempt by SWAT to execute a search warrant related to drugs and guns at a tattoo shop left one person dead.
SWAT officers with the Orlando Police Department attempted to execute the warrant around 2 p.m. at a tattoo shop on Edgewater Drive near the intersection with Lee Road. OPD had previously received multiple drug dealing complaints about the shop and believed criminal activity was occurring inside, Chief Eric Smith said at a news conference following the incident.
Smith said multiple suspects were believed to be inside the shop. They collectively had criminal histories including burglary, robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, sex offenses, drug offenses, auto theft, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, an OPD news release said.
When SWAT arrived, a person fled the shop with an AK-47-style rifle. Officers fired shots at him, causing him to flee back into the shop, according to the release.
Multiple people became barricaded inside. When OPD entered the shop about an hour later, they found one person dead, Smith said.
Smith initially said a suspect died at the scene, and the news release said one suspect was found dead, but Smith thereafter did not identify the person found dead as a suspect. Smith said who killed the person and how, including whether or not they were shot, would be determined by the investigation.
The investigation will also determine who was inside the shop, given that innocent bystanders could have been there, Smith said. He said wasn’t sure if any suspects were still at large and said it is still early in the active investigation.
The release said the officers involved in the shooting were not injured and have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will conduct an independent review of the incident, followed by a review by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s office.