N. Miami Beach Shooting Called Murder-Suicide
The 3 of the victim's 4 children -- ages 10, 13, and 14 -- are in critical condition and are fighting for their lives after their mother's boyfriend went on a shooting spree in their North Miami Beach home at 1500 Northeast 151st Terrace.
NMBP spokesman Mike Pons said the case is being classified as a murder-suicide and confirmed the relationship of the victims, saying the apparent shooter was the mother's boyfriend and not the biological father to the children.
"Why shooting the kids? Why? They're just kids," said the father of the 10-year-old. "He sounded like a nice guy. I don't know what's happened."
Pons said police got a call around 11:20 p.m. that a child had been shot in a home in the 15 hundred block of NE 151 Terrace.
CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald is reporting that the shooting came after a violent argument between the two adults over infidelities, one of the children later told her bilogical father. In a rage, she said the man grabbed a gun, killed her mother, then went after the kids.
He then turned the gun on himself.
When officers arrived they found a 10-year old boy who had been shot. They then heard several gunshots from inside a home and called in a SWAT team.
"Officers heard shots fired actively while they were on the scene," said Pons.
As they approached the front door they heard the gunfire and then found a 14-year old girl who also had been shot.
The teen was taken to safety as SWAT members surrounded the home. Making their way inside, Pons said police found the bodies of a man and woman. They also found a 13-year old boy suffering from a gunshot wound.
A 2-year old boy was later found wandering not far from the home. This child, who was a sibling to the injured children, somehow escaped being hurt.
The injured children were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The toddler has been placed in protective custody.
Pons said it appears the shooting was the result of a violent domestic argument. As the fight escalated, Pons said the man grabbed a gun and shot the children's mother and the other children, except the toddler.
He then turned the gun on himself.
The names of the dead couple and those of the injured children have not been released.
