A gay man was shot and killed early Sunday morning following an altercation outside an Orlando nightclub. Police have arrested one suspect, but the victim’s family and friends say another person was involved, too. Thirty-three-year-old Julien Emmanuel Cruz was leaving the Savoy, a gay club in Orlando’s Ivanhoe Village neighborhood, with his partner as the venue was closing. Cruz’s father, Anthony Cruz, described what happened next.
“My son saw that was happening, my son went to intervene, and when he intervened, another guy got out of the car, and he got shot.” According to a February 22 statement posted by Orlando police on Twitter, officers responded around 2:30 a.m. and found Cruz with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died. Police said their investigation determined that Cruz and 37-year-old suspect Jean Gabriel Borja Gil De La Madr were involved in a verbal and physical altercation on the sidewalk prior to the shooting.
During the dispute, the suspect retrieved a firearm from his vehicle and shot the victim. Borja reportedly fled but was later apprehended and charged with Second Degree Murder with a Firearm. He is being held without bond. Police have not said whether they are seeking another suspect. Cruz’s father said, “My son didn’t deserve what happened…All I have left is a shirt. A shirt with a bullet hole.” Cruz’s friend Ivy Guera told WFTV: “We just want justice for him.”
