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Man accused of killing Georgia student during spring break alleges self-defense, report says

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — As police continue to investigate a deadly shooting that killed a Georgia college student on spring break in Miami Beach, new details have been released about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Osagie Jordan Idahosa, 21, was killed Friday in South Beach, according to an incident report.

The Miami Beach Police Department said they were called out the area of 7 Street and Ocean drive shortly after 10:30 p.m. and found two men suffering from gunshot wounds.

One was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries. The other was last listed in critical condition.

The report said Idahosa was the man who was killed. The man who was critically injured, was Tameen Abdullah, of McDonough.

Investigators said at the time that they had taken a man into custody, who was cooperating with the investigation. The report listed him as Lawarren Omeal Meadows, 23, of Tallahassee, Florida.

When police arrived at the scene, investigators said Meadows came up to the officers and told them “it was me,” according to the report. They said Meadows admitted to the deadly shooting and was immediately placed into handcuffs.

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While he was detained, Meadows “made spontaneous statements saying that someone pulled a gun on him, forcing him to defend himself.”

So far, Meadows has not been charged because police are looking into his self-defense claim under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

WALB-TV spoke to a friend of Idahosa’s, Javon Johnson. who was with him when the shooting happened, and said the shooting happened suddenly.

“My friend had called me to see where I was at, and I turned around for like 10 seconds. After that, all you heard was gunshots. I really didn’t know who it was. I couldn’t see anything,” Jordan said.

His brother, Sammy Idahosa, said the family has been left in disbelief about what happened.

“Jordan was a special guy. He went from being homeschooled to being a scholar. There’s millions and millions of memories of me and Jordan. We grew up three years apart, and we practically did everything together. He’s like my twin brother,” Sammy Idahosa told WALB-TV. “Jordan was the first Idahosa to depart from us. It doesn’t feel real. I just want people to know my brother was a soldier. My brother was a warrior and still is in spirit.”

Idahosa was a student with South Georgia State College but was also taking an entry-level course at Valdosta State. Neither school would make a statement on the death to WALB-TV.

Just over 24 hours later, another deadly shooting was reported in Miami Beach, just a few blocks from where Idahosa was killed. Following the two shootings, it prompted the Miami Beach Police Department to issue a curfew for all of South Beach the following night.

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