Deputies: 2 men shot, killed at illegal nightclub in Pine Hills
Orange County deputies are investigating after two men were shot and killed next door to a bakery overnight.
It happened on Pine Hills Road near Silver Star.
The sheriff's office believes it started at an illegal nightclub.
Just a little after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies received a shooting report near a business on Pine Hills Road near Silver Star Road.
In a unit next to the business, deputies found two men who were shot dead.
Deputies have identified the two men who were killed in this shooting as 56-year-old Errol Sylvester Irving and 49-year-old Joslyn Michael Gray.
Investigators believe the business where the shooting happened was labeled as a tax office, but said evidence suggested the office was being used exclusively as an illicit after-hours establishment.
"It's really sad. Really sad, you know," resident Paula said.
Sheriff John Mina says nightclubs that are illegally selling alcohol tend to attract violence.
It's why he's been pushing for harsher penalties for businesses that are breaking the law.
According to Florida law, the current punishment for illegal alcohol sales is a misdemeanor.
Mina wants it to change to a felony because he believes it would give his team more tools to stop the crime.
The sheriff says a legislation that would toughen the punishment passed in the Florida House and Senate unanimously.
"I feel like there's a lot, especially in this area, there's a lot of clubs that, you know, go to a five in the morning, stuff like that. Definitely, you know, that makes them five in the morning," resident Ronald Guerrero said. "Alcohol can drive people. A lot of people in one area definitely leads to that."
Deputies are working to figure out a motive for the double murders and searching for the person who opened fire.
"Something needs to be taken care of. Something really needs to be taken care of, especially in this generation's time," Paula said.
"I'm a family man, so I'm definitely trying to be here for my children. So I stick to my lane, go to work, stay out the way," Guerrero said.
Editor's note: The Orange County Sheriff's Office originally indicated the shooting happened at another business at that address and later sent a clarification saying the shooting happened at another unit at the address. They provided the following statement to WESH 2 in an update, "We apologize for the erroneous information that was previously released in the very early stages of the investigation. It was the only information available at that time."
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