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Shooting At Theme Park Remains Unsolved

Students Said Fight Was Over County Pride

POSTED: Monday, April 14, 2008
UPDATED: 6:40 pm EDT April 14, 2008

A shooting at an Orlando theme park that injured two teenagers from Pompano Beach was over county pride, witnesses told Local 10.

Witnesses told Local 10's Rob Schmitt that the problems began Sunday when students began teasing each other. Students from Palm Beach and Broward counties began arguing and then fighting. "I saw sticks, rocks, water pipes, everything," said high school senior Rachel Marseille. Then, three shots were fired, hitting an 18-year-old in the leg, according to police. Michael Rosavelt was shot, while his 16-year-old brother, Marlin Laguerre, was hit in the mouth with a rock.

Fort Lauderdale-based Xtreme Trips organized the "Spring Bling" trip and took more than 1,000 students from Broward and Palm Beach counties to Orlando for a weekend getaway. Orlando police found a handgun on one of the buses used by Xtreme Trips. The handgun was found in the bathroom, and testing will reveal if it was the gun that was used to shoot Rosavelt. Many students are blaming Xtreme Trips for not having enough chaperones to handle the problem.

But a friend of Rosavelt said it wasn't the company's fault. "They were trying to break up the fight They did everything they could, but there weren't enough chaperones because it was a lot of people, like 1,600," said Owens Joseph.

Orlando police said it will be difficult to determine who fired the shots because there were so many people involved, and they are now all back in south Florida.

An attorney for Xtreme Trips released a statement Monday:

"The incident that took place yesterday at Wet 'n Wild is highly unfortunate. It was an isolated event that was unforeseeable by Xtreme Trips' management and staff. The company extends its wishes for a quick recovery to the two individuals injured and are hopeful the people responsible for the crime are apprehended. Because there is an ongoing investigation with state and local law enforcement, Xtreme Trips has been asked not to make any further comments regarding what transpired. Xtreme Trips is one of the most successful student travel companies in the United States. It has safely traveled over 35,000 students since its inception in 2002, without incident or occurrence."

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