Neighbors Want More Security After Cemetery Shooting
MIAMI (CBS4) – One teen is dead and another injured after a Saturday night shooting near a landmark City of Miami Cemetery.
Miami police spokesperson Kenia Reyes said the two teens apparently got into some kind of argument with a large group of young men near the Flagler Memorial Cemetery, located at Flagler Street and 53rd Avenue, and shots were fired.
A 17 year-old boy, whose name has not been released immediately, died on the scene, according to Miami Fire-Rescue spokesperson Ignatius Carroll.
A second person wounded by a bullet managed to make his own way to nearby Metropolitan Hospital for treatment of less serious injuries.
Police have not said what caused the argument or who opened fire.
Jesus Bustamante's grandparents live nearby and heard the gunfire erupt just after 9 p.m.
"They were very worried," said Bustamante. "My grandma said that she was sleeping in her room which her room is right there and she was trying to duck down more and more when she was hearing the actual shooting going on."
Mario Colon was at the cemetery on Sunday visiting his late mother. News of the shooting upset him.
"Maybe it's a generational thing," said Colon. "They don't respect cemeteries like they used to. This is like a sacred place people have a lot of hurting here."
Colon said the cemetery used to have security guards but recently got rid of them. He believes they need to bring the guards back.
Another neighbor agreed that more security and police are need in the area. She did not want to be identified but said she is scared to keep living in the area with her two children.
"Like twice a month there something going on in that area," she said. "There's always in and out, always, so I'm not surprised that there's something going on."
