A History Of South Florida Mass Shootings
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The deadly shooting at a Hialeah apartment complex that left seven people dead, including the gunman, is not the first mass shooting in South Florida but it may be one of the worst in Hialeah's history.
SWAT teams surrounded the 95-unit, five-story apartment complex near 1480 W. 46 Street just after 7 p.m. Friday, July 26 in search of the gunman who was later shot and killed.
Here's a look at some other mass shootings that have taken place in South Florida.
March 30, 2012
No arrests have been made after a shooting at the Funeraria Latina Emanuel funeral home at 14990 W. Dixie Highway. When the barrage of bullets ended, two men were killed and 12 others were hospitalized including a 5-year-old girl.
June 6, 2010:
Gerardo Regalado shot 7 women, killing four of them including his wife Liazan Molina at the Yoyito Restaurant in Hialeah. After the mass shooting, he shot and killed himself.
January 23, 2009:
Nine people were shot at a dice game at the corner of NW 70th Street and 15th Avenue when two men with assault rifles opened fire on a crowd of 30 people in front of small Liberty City market. Two people died. 16-year-old Brandon Mills and 18-year-old Derrick Gloster. Both were shot in the head.
July 6, 2009:
Three people opened fire with an assault rifle at the 20th birthday party celebration for Lawrence Smith near NW 5th Street and 5th Avenue in Overtown. Twelve people were wounded and two partygoers died: Michelle Coleman, 21, a FAMU college student, and Anthony Smith, a 17-year-old football star at Booker T. Washington Senior High. Rodney Lashawn Miller was arrested about a month later for his role in the mass shooting and charged with two counts of second-degree murder. He was 18 at the time of his arrest.
November 26, 2009:
Paul Michael Merhige opened fire during Thanksgiving dinner at the Palm Beach home of his cousin Muriel Sitton. He shot 6 family members, killing 4 of them. Merhige killed his twin sisters, one of whom was pregnant, his aunt Raymonde Joseph and Muriel's 6-year-old daughter Makayla, who had been tucked into bed. Merhige avoided the death penalty after agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for seven consecutive life sentences.
August 20, 1982:
Carl Robert Brown was a teacher turned mass murderer who killed eight people and injured another three with a shotgun in a Miami welding shop on August 20, 1982. He was later fatally shot and run down by two witnesses, when cycling away from the crime scene. The 51-year old history teacher was reportedly upset over the bill for work done on his lawnmower engine.
