ORLANDO, Fla. – A man hit by a bullet while working at a downtown Orlando nightclub is recalling the moment he was injured early Monday morning.
Waleed Attia said he was working a double shift on Sunday to help make more money since his fiancé is four-months pregnant. He was working the front door and issuing wristbands at the time of the shooting.
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Just after midnight, Attia said two men began arguing moments before gunfire erupted.
“I felt water coming down my face, and I touched my head and I was drenched in blood. I got up and looked at my buddy and there was blood all over him,” Attia said. “The bullet went in my head, came out my head. I dropped on my back, so my back is pretty messed up and all I could see is just black.”
At the hospital, the doctor told him he was lucky to be alive.
“From then he told me, you are going to be okay. You are lucky to be alive. He missed by just a millimeter, so I just started crying knowing it wasn’t my time,” Attia said.
Orlando Police said 32-year-old Wulner Durand was arrested for shooting two people along Pine Street in downtown just after midnight on Monday. OPD said there was a full officer detail downtown at the time of the shooting.
On July 31, seven people were shot in downtown Orlando, which prompted the city to create checkpoints. There have been several shootings in the same area in recent weeks.
Attia said employees of downtown businesses will be less likely to work in the area if the violence persists. He said more needs to be done.
“Especially with three off duty cops standing right in front. They couldn’t do their job? I don’t understand. I know things happen in an instant and a lot of people don’t know what to do, but you’re a cop. Your trained for this,” Attia said. “They need to up security. They need more police.
News 6 emailed a request to speak with Orlando Police Wednesday afternoon, but did not receive a response. News 6 then asked Chief Eric Smith for an interview while he was attending a community event Wednesday evening, but he declined. Smith said he would help facilitate an interview with the lead detective on the case. An update will be posted if the meeting happens.
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