Teen fighting for his life after southwest Miami-Dade shooting
MIAMI - Police were searching for a suspect Friday after a 15-year-old boy was shot Thursday night in southwest Miami-Dade, authorities said.
Investigators received a ShotSpotter alert around 9:40 p.m. about gunfire in the area of SW 126th Court and SW 283rd Street.
Police found a small red SUV and the teen behind the wheel suffering from several gunshot wounds. He was taken into surgery at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition Friday afternoon.
The teen's loved ones said this makes no sense to them and they want answers.
"He was coming home and they shot him in front of the house," said the teen's 19-year-old sister.
She told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that in order to shield her brother's identity, she did not want to divulge his or her name or show all of her face for the interview. But she wanted to speak out.
"He does a lot of things. He is smart. He cares about a lot of people. He puts himself out there for anybody," she said. "He does a lot of things for everybody. And they take advantage of him. He is a loving person."
A 21-year-old man who was with the teen in the SUV was not hurt during the incident.
The victim's girlfriend whose first name is Jay also did not want to show her face or provide her last name but she also wanted to speak out.
"This is unfair," she said. "You guys are out there carrying guns and shooting a cars and you hit an innocent person. It is messed up. He didn't do anything to anybody. If you guys know anything at all, tell the cops. This is unfair. This person is out there. What if this was your child. You would want people to contact the police. So if you know anything, just contact."
Miami-Dade police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said Thursday night that they do not know what led to the shooting or if the teen was the intended target.
"This is somebody that should be going to school tomorrow instead of fighting for their life at the trauma center," he said.
"We brother shouldn't be going through this. He shouldn't be in the hospital right now. My brother shouldn't be going through this," said the teen's sister.
He added they are looking for two men who fled the scene. One of the men was described as being about 6 feet tall and wearing dark clothing. The other man was shorter and wearing a dark hoodie.
"These individuals are still out there in the community," Zabaleta said. "They are considered armed and dangerous. They will try to kill somebody, I am sure they will strike again. So we have to come together as a community and stop gun violence."
He said investigators spoke with neighbors in the area to see if they knew anything about the shooting and about how they can work together to prevent tragedies like gun violence.
"Gun violence should not be allowed. It should not be going on. We should do things to better each other and not hurt people so like that," said the teen's sister.