Girl Injured When Gunman Opens Fire On Miami Gardens Home
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami Gardens police are stepping up their presence on the streets after a tenth person was shot in the last week and a half.
The latest shooting occurred Wednesday night. Police say a man got out of a white Dodge Neon and fired into a home at 193rd Street and NW 17th Avenue. Eleven-year-old Kayla Duncan was inside the home when she was hit.
"It's about time all these things stop." said the girl's next-door neighbor Mildred Williams. "All these shootings must stop. It's bad." Williams told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that she was woken from a sound sleep by the sound of at least five bullets be fired at the home.
"Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. Five times. That's all. That's what I heard," she said.
"What questions do you have?" asked D'Oench.
"Why?" she asked. "Why did someone have to do this. She is a sweet little girl with a twin sister. They have lived there about 9 years. And nothing like this has ever happened before. I am upset. If you know anything call the police. If you see anything call the police. This has got to stop."
A number of youngsters witnessed the gunfire.
"I heard gunshots. The man he didn't come down, he stopped at the corner on the street before this one and he got out of the car but he went through the back and came up on the side of the house," said Melissa Sharp. "My brother thought he was shooting down the street but he was shooting at the house."
"It sounded like fireworks," said another youngster who said his name was Josh.
The girl was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she was listed as stable.
As officers investigated the shooting, the police department was setting set up a Mobile Command Center at NW 207th Street near NW 27th Avenue. Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert said there will be extra security details in response to the rash of recent shootings.
In the past 11 days, 10 people have been shot in Miami Gardens.
"It's unfortunate these individuals shoot just, at anything. It's very disheartening sometimes but you know, we are doing our best," said Detective Mike Wright.
Gilbert said the police department is instituting a "zero tolerance" policy through the end of the year.
"What we're doing for immediate response is making it very uncomfortable for people to leave their house with guns," Gilbert said.
By 9 p.m., at least 10 arrests had been made, Gilbert said.
"The line is zero tolerance," Gilbert emphasized. "So if you break a law, you're going to jail."
One man who has dealt with the consequences of gun violence first hand said things need to change.
"We're living war zone," Glenn Forshee said. "There's a shooting almost everyday."
Forshee's 12-year-old daughter, Tequila, was killed in August when she was struck by a bullet inside a home where she was getting her hair braided for school.
Her killer has not been caught.
"It's innocent people. Bullets don't have names on them. They don't have eyes, they don't have nothing," Forshee explained.
On Tuesday, two people were found shot inside a car at the Cedar Grove Apartment complex, not far from where police were forced to shoot a man who fired at officers the night before.
A 19-year-old was gunned down outside his Miami Gardens home early Monday morning.
"It's horrific. It's horrific," Gilbert said. "What you see out here is in some way a response to that. We've had some success deterring crime, but as of late, we've had a rash of shootings."
For the Forshee family, the extra police details are a step in the right direction, but it won't be enough to make the city safe again.
"We're a long ways right now. A lot more needs to be done," said Forshee.
Police have a limited description of the suspect in the shooting of the 11-year-old girl.
They say he is 20 to 25 years old and was wearing a skull cap and blue jeans.
Anyone with information that could help in a police investigation should contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 35-471-TIPS (8477).
You can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward.
