Nephew Of Triple Shooting Victim Says Gun Violence 'Tearing Our Streets Apart'
WEST PERRINE (CBSMiami) – A 15-year-old West Perrine youngster is in critical condition at Kendall Regional Medical Center after he was shot in the back in a drive-by Sunday night.
A family member told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the youngster's 42-year-old mother is also at the same hospital after being shot in the arm and her 20-year-old son is at Jackson South Miami Medical Center after being wounded in the buttocks in the same incident.
That family member, whose first name is Donnie, did not want to show his face or provide his last name. He is the mother's nephew.
He said the victims were all sitting on their front porch at the home in the 10300 block of SW 174th Terrace at 9:42 p.m. when Miami-Dade police said a dark colored vehicle with dark tints drove up and shots were fired. The vehicle contained three "subjects" with handguns who then took off after the incident.
Police do not have a motive or a description of the shooters.
Donnie said he heard as many as seven shots and at the scene CBS4 spotted at least seven evidence markers.
"I don't know why this happened," said Donnie. "I don't know why. I just know that three people were shot. I wept. I wept. That's all I could do. Gun violence is tearing out streets apart. That's why I pray to the Lord and in this case they could have lost their lives but God had mercy on them. I just think more people should pray to the Lord because of what is going on."
"I heard five to seven shots," said Donnie. "All I can say is that if you know something you should talk to police and tell them."
That was echoed in a tweet by Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. The 15-year-old victim is a student at a Miami-Dade pubic high school.
"Bullets indiscriminately victimizing our youngest," Carvalho tweeted. "Teenager among three injured in Drive By shooting Sunday night. If you know something, please report. Silence = complicity. #See something. Say something."
Linda Thomas lives directly across the street from where the crime happened and has live in the neighborhood for 30 years.
"I felt heartbroken for the family. They have been here quite a while. For a drive-by to happen in this neighborhood in this fashion is unbelievable," she said. "These people were just sitting out on their porch as a lot of us do in this neighborhood."
Johnny Farias is on the Miami-Dade Community Council and is a candidate for the Miami-Dade Commission in District 9.
"My reaction is that this is something that has to stop. This is something that the community has to live with. This is the reality that we live with now. We have to take the actions that are necessary to stop this from happening," he said.
If you can help police find the shooter, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS. There's a reward of up to $1,000 and callers will remain anonymous.