Separate Shootings Have Two Families Grieving For Slain Teen Boys
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A grieving mother is appealing for the public's help after her 17-year-old son was shot in the back on Saturday near their Miami home.
He was one of two 17-year-old youngsters who were gunned down in 2 cities this past weekend in Miami-Dade.
"It's been terrible," said Maria Alvarez, whose son Danny---a senior at Coral Gables Senior High School---was shot and killed just a few blocks away from their home at S.W. 31st Ave. and S.W. 4th St. Witnesses say someone drove Danny Alvarez to Coral Gables Hospital in a black Mercedes after he was shot.
Maria Alvarez told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "It's been 5 months since I lost my husband and now I have two losses at the same time. How am I going to feel. The biggest thing that hurts is why did they kill my son. I have no information on what happened."
"He was a very loving son," she said. "We are devastated as is his brother and everyone in this house. A mother should never have to bury her son. A son should always have to bury his mother. I need help. Everyone should stay vigilant. If you saw anything in the neighborhood, you need to say something. I have no idea why this happened. I have no idea."
"I imagine that he must know these people," she said. "Police are talking to his friends and I know they got some surveillance tape from the neighborhood that may help."
Alvarez said she had a GPS tracking device that kept track of where her son's phone was and when she woke up in the morning, she checked and found his phone was at Coral Gables Hospital, which is where he was taken after he was shot.
Alvarez said there would be a viewing for her son on Tuesday afternoon at a funeral home at S.W. 2nd St. And S.W. 37th Ave. She said the time had not been set and there was no set time for her son's memorial service. She said he is survived by a brother and a sister.
Miami Police say they have no new information to release about this case.
Miami-Dade Police are also investigating the murder of another 17-year-old youngster---Jultavious Williams---at a park at 600 S.W. 14th Ave. in Homestead that happened around 5 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses say it happened as a group was playing football and shots were fired.
A makeshift memorial has been set up at the park in his honor.
Pastor Mark Coats said Williams was a student at Grace Christian Preparatory School in Goulds and now Coats said some of his 100 fellow students have been writing condolence letters to Williams' family. Coats also released a video of Williams reading scripture from the Book of Matthew at the school on December 23rd.
Pastor Coats said "From the time he was in school with us which has been from September to now I have noticed progressions and all the signs of a good kid, reading the bible and looking for a job. He was a good kid and a thoughtful kid."
Coats made an appeal for help as well.
"That's my prayer," he said. "I urge you to turn yourself in and surrender to make it easier on yourself and the family that you have interrupted in a bad way."
"The other thing I would like to say is that kids need to stay in school," he said. "If they do they can turn things around and there are alternatives to what some have been doing."
Miami-Dade Police say they have no new leads in this case and so far no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information that can help police should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477). There are rewards of up to $3,000.