ORLANDO, Fla. — Two minutes, 55 seconds — that’s how long it took for Jaylen Edgar took to kill two people and injure several others in two separate shootings during a 2024 Halloween bash in downtown Orlando, prosecutors told jurors on day one of his trial Thursday.

During the daylong proceeding, the 12-person panel and a gallery full of Edgar’s and victims’ loved ones watched grisly video from that night, while hearing testimony from several Orlando police officers who responded to the scene and the survivors who lived it.

Prosecutors also described the killings of Tyrek Hill, 25, and Timothy Schmidt, 19, as spontaneous and cold-blooded, his targets picked randomly among the tens of thousands of partygoers that night.

In his opening argument, Assistant State Attorney Frank George — who showed a photo of Hill’s body to the jury — said Edgar never met either man he killed. After killing Hill, George said, “He could’ve gotten away that night, but he wasn’t done.”

“We will be able to tell you how, we will be able to tell you when,” he added. “The evidence will show the why is simply because that is what the man wanted to do.”

Edgar’s attorney Junior Barrett offered no rebuttal, instead deferring his opening statements to later in the trial. He also asked few questions of the state’s witnesses except for Nathaly Martinez, a crime scene investigator who analyzed the bullet casings and confirmed she couldn’t find Edgar’s fingerprints.

Edgar is facing life in prison if convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and several counts of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty but admitted to the killings in a letter to Circuit Judge Keith Carsten ahead of his trial late last month, insisting he was not in his right mind at the time.

Barrett previously told the court he doesn’t intend to use Edgar’s mental health when the shooting took place as a defense, even though Edgar had sought to pursue an insanity defense earlier this year. Carsten said he would allow Edgar to make that case should he take the stand.

Hill was the first to die early in the morning of Nov. 1, 2024, having been shot in the face at point-blank range outside the Taco Bell Cantina at Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard. Schmidt, a University of Central Florida student, was killed minutes later following a brief altercation with which he wasn’t involved outside a bar near Washington Street. Several others were injured during the fray, struck by stray gunfire as the panicked crowd fled the area.

Edgar, who was 17 at the time and is on trial as an adult, listened closely as the witnesses gave their testimony, juxtaposed by different angles of police and surveillance videos capturing those fateful minutes.

Jurors first heard from Orlando police officers Marcus Medal, Michael Hernandez, Andrew Merks and Capt. Cynthia Lane, who responded to the separate scenes. Medal, who was nearby during an off-duty shift downtown when Hill was shot, said he didn’t initially recognize Edgar as the shooter, though his body camera captured the teen running past him after Hill collapsed to the ground.

Two of Hill’s childhood friends, Fred Jackson and Gavin Jones, were with him the moment he was shot. They described a brief night on the town and standing outside the Taco Bell when Edgar passed them.

They were waiting for other friends to arrive before hitting the bars, “but we didn’t make it that far,” Jones said. On cross-examination, he testified that no words were exchanged before Edgar shot Hill.

“He walked by Tyrek like he knew him, but he doesn’t,” he said of Edgar. “His eyes were locked on Tyrek.”

As Medal moved to quickly secure the intersection next to Taco Bell, several more shots were heard up the block north on Orange Avenue. While Schmidt was hit, Anthony Berry was the intended target after having confronted Edgar, who was shoving his way through the downtown crowd with his companions.

Berry said he ducked when Edgar raised his gun at him and the bullet grazed the top of his head. He then ran to a nearby fire station, using his clothes to stop the bleeding while he sought help. The shot left a prominent scar, he said, but that night left a “permanent mental injury.”

“Today, I really try to not let it affect me,” he said from the stand.

The other officers hurried to the second scene as Hernandez tackled a fleeing Edgar to the ground. Officers quickly converged to help subdue the teen, with Merks pulling the gun from the backside of his jeans, which had sagged below his mid-thigh.

Lane, meanwhile, tried to save Schmidt while paramedics made their way downtown.

“I performed chest compressions for about 15 minutes,” Lane testified. Schmidt later died at a hospital.

Along with Berry, jurors also heard from several people injured by the gunfire, some with permanent injuries.

Jessica Carvalho, who was shot in the hand, recovered with limited function despite undergoing reconstructive surgery.

Noemi Rojas, who said it was her “first and last time” in downtown Orlando that night, survived a gunshot to the leg and says she it still sometimes hurts trying to stand up.

Jonathan Valle survived a shot to the head, though he told jurors he still has bullet fragments still lodged inside. He now suffers from seizures and lost his peripheral vision.

Ashley Price, a UCF student at the time, was shot in the foot, an injury she didn’t notice until the next morning. She described the gunfire as the sound of balloons popping and said she saw Schmidt on the ground, bleeding out.

“I saw him, I froze, and I think I heard a few more gunshots and I fell on the ground,” she said in tears. “… I thought I was pushed, but I wasn’t sure.”

Except for Berry, none of the witnesses said on cross-examination that they argued or otherwise confronted Edgar before he opened fire. They remained in the courtroom following their testimonies until the day’s proceedings concluded just after 4 p.m.

At the end of the day, Edgar had his hands cuffed and his torso shackled before being escorted out of the courtroom. The trial is set to continue Friday at 9 a.m.

________

©2026 Orlando Sentinel. Visit at orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.