KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A family that vacationed in Central Florida for fun in the sun and to celebrate a milestone birthday cut their trip short after the Airbnb rental home they stayed in became littered with bullets, as reported by our sister station WFTV.
“We put so much time and energy in love into planning this trip, just to have it shattered,” said Kelleen Reddy, whose vacation home was hit by gunfire.
Reddy said the family of 14, ages 2 to 16, got to the home on Coconut Breeze in Kissimmee and planned to stay for five days to enjoy the Disney Parks and celebrate her brother’s 40th birthday at Epcot with plans to end the trip with a cookout and fun by the pool, WFTV reported.
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“The severity of the situation is not only just the shooting but also how are you supposed to travel and feel safe,” said Reddy.
Reddy said she chose the rental for their vacation because it was large enough for the family. The community where the home was is gated and has security.
Saturday night, Reddy said things took a turn for the worse, dozens of cars and people started surrounding the home only five feet away from where Osceola Sheriff’s Office said there was a house party.
“Lots of screaming, lots of loud music, and the street racing I think really scared everybody, Multiple cars street racing that sound is very loud,” said Reddy.
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Reddy said the home had a large house party that police were called to not once but twice. The second time Osceola Sheriff’s office got a call about a shooting at the residence that sent dozens of people ducking for cover.
The sheriff’s office said an innocent bystander was shot and taken to the hospital by a friend and was expected to be okay. Meanwhile, the Reddy family was held up inside their rental home in the second-floor bathroom in fear of the bullets.
“We just started hearing this barrage of fireworks,” said Reddy.
Reddy said the bullets penetrated their rental several times. Pictures sent to WFTV Tonight showed bullet holes in the windows, hitting bed posts where people would have been sleeping that night, and shattering their car’s back window.
“I mean, it was pure shock of just sitting in the bathroom shaking, and at that moment, you didn’t know if the bullets were coming into our house,” said Reddy.
The Osceola Sheriff’s Office has yet to arrest anyone in the shooting.
Airbnb confirmed with WFTV that there was no Airbnb reservation associated with the reported party or shooting incident.
The company also stated each guest that rents through the company is “Air Covered,” it protects guests against eligible issues and is included free with every booking.
The company said if there’s a serious issue with a listing that the host can’t resolve, it will help the guest find a similar place to stay or refund them.
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