ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As two deputies remain on administrative leave following a deadly shooting over the weekend, Loida Zunun is still trying to process what happened.
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“I’m not going to see my friend anymore. He was in his house,” Zunun said amidst tears.
The woman says 24-year-old Luis Lopez was the one shot and killed by Orange County deputies on Castle Street.
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“Some guy was trying to get in his house, and he called my mom,” Zunun said. “He was scared, and he told us, hey, there’s somebody trying to come inside my house.”
The incident happened around 11:30 pm Saturday. Deputies were called to the scene for reports of a burglarized home. Zunun says she was the one who made that call.
“I grabbed my phone, and I called 911. When the police arrived, I showed them the house,” she said. “I just seen them go to his door and through the window, they saw both of them inside.”
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Investigators said when deputies arrived, the men were fighting, and Lopez was holding a knife.
“The deputies gave several commands to the man to drop the knife, but he refused, and deputies discharged their service weapon, striking the man with the knife,” said Mark Canty, Undersheriff, Orange County.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he died.
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Now, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into the case.
“Once this process is complete, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office will conduct its own investigation,” said Canty.
For Zunun, Lopez’s death was unjustified. “He was just protecting himself. I don’t see another way. He asked for help, and we were trying to help him. He didn’t deserve this.”
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