Army veteran injured in 4-on-1 assault at downtown Orlando smoke shop

Army veteran injured in 4-on-1 assault in downtown Orlando

An Army veteran suffered a facial fracture after he was attacked by four men inside a downtown Orlando smoke shop Sunday night, according to police.

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Army veteran suffered a facial fracture after he was attacked by four men inside a downtown Orlando smoke shop Sunday night, according to police.

Markus Torres, who manages the store on Orange Ave., said the confrontation began when he asked a group of customers to leave after they became rowdy.

The backstory:

Four suspects attacked a smoke shop manager in downtown Orlando Sunday night, according to Orlando police. 

The manager, Army veteran Markus Torres, said the group got too rowdy inside the store. He said they were "play wrestling," so he asked them to leave. 

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Torres said he was punched and kicked but was able to save himself from further injury by remembering his Army training. 

Torres said he had one suspect in a chokehold before they ran off. 

Torres got checked out at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Doctors told him he had a facial fracture, but he was lucky he did not have a brain bleed or a concussion. 

An Army veteran suffered a facial fracture after he was attacked by four men inside a downtown Orlando smoke shop Sunday night, according to police.

Torres had two black eyes and several scrapes and bruises when he met with the FOX 35 News crew Tuesday. 

An Army veteran suffered a facial fracture after he was attacked by four men inside a downtown Orlando smoke shop Sunday night, according to police.

An Army veteran suffered a facial fracture after he was attacked by four men inside a downtown Orlando smoke shop Sunday night, according to police.

Officers arrested Edwin Rodriguez the same night. Rodriguez was booked into the Orange County Jail early Monday morning. 

Rodriguez is charged with aggravated battery. 

Two other men are possible suspects while the fourth suspect has not been identified, according to an arrest report. 

What they're saying:

Torres said the fight lasted a minute at most.

"I came around the counter to escort them out and the driver hit me and then it was on," Torres said. 

Torres said he had to quickly fight back.

"I got the first one I can and started hitting the crap out of him as best I could," Torres said. "Trying to fend them off and get them out of the shop. It was a lot of kicks to the face. They really couldn’t get to me because I had one of their buddies in a rear-naked choke hold while I was punching him in the face, so it made it hard for them to really get in close with their hands."

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Torres said he is ready to return to work as soon as doctors clear him. 

"It’s not meant to be pretty. Wish it didn’t happened, but I make the best of it."

Torres said his military training helped him prevent further injury.

"I was able to walk away from it," Torres said. "Most people, I can’t say the same for them. I’m just glad it was me there that day."

What's next:

Police have not reported making other arrests in this case.