Man attempts suicide, carjacks woman to get to hospital

WINTER GARDEN – At approximately 4:36 a.m, Orange County deputies received a call regarding a suicidal male in possession of a gun at 13279 Flamingo Crossings Blvd.

While deputies deployed to the location – Springhill Suites in Winter Garden – searched for the man in question, they heard gunshots, according to an Orange County Sheriff's Office press release. 

As it turned out, the 21-year-old man, Adrian Rivera, had shot himself. However, the wound was non-life threatening, and Rivera, according to OCSO, had carjacked a woman and forced her to drive him to a hospital.

The carjacking was reported by the female victim, who called police shortly after dropping off Rivera at the Winter Garden hospital. The woman was uninjured.

"The victim reported the suspect, who deputies were searching for, approached her vehicle while she was stopped on (State Road) 429 due to road closures for the search, told her he was shot and had a gun and ordered her to drive him to the hospital," according to the OCSO release.

Rivera was recovered outside hospital grounds by Winter Garden police around 7 a.m. He has since been charged with 14 counts, including kidnapping with a firearm, carjacking with a firearm, false imprisonment with a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, carry a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, reckless display of a firearm, discharging firearm in public and resisting arrest without violence.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected]