Police: Funeral Home Shooting Was Gang Related
NORTH MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A five-year old girl who was shot outside a North Miami funeral home last week in which two people were killed and 11 others injured continues to recover.
The shooting happened Friday night around 9:30 p.m. outside the Funeraria Latina Emanuel funeral home at 14990 W. Dixie Highway Friday.
One of the victims, a 43-year-old man, died outside the funeral home, authorities said. The other, a 27-year-old man, died at the hospital. Witnesses at the funeral home had said one of the two people killed was shot in the chest.
Mckayla, 5, was shot in the leg and hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital along with eleven other victims.
Mckayla's grandmother told CBS4's Maggie Newland that the girl has a bullet lodged in her leg bone that doctors do not plan on removing it, however, she should fully recover.
"She was crying, she wasn't walking, I thought someone stepped on her foot or something and someone started screaming she got shot she got shot," said the girl's mother Someta. Etienne.
Etienne said she had her back to the street when the shooting started. She immediately looked toward her daughter. Mckayla was conscious after the shooting and told her grandmother on the phone, "Grandma, I've been shot."
Her parents said Mckayla is in a full body cast, but her spirits are good.
"She's always telling me 'don't cry' she was wiping my tears earlier," Etienne said, adding, "She's actually holding it together better than I am," said Etienne.
Aventura Police Sgt. Chris Goranitis told CBS4 News the funeral was for 21-year-old Morvin Andre who died on March 16th, one day after he jumped from the 4th to 2nd floor of the Aventura Mall parking garage in an effort to escape pursuit by Bloomingdale's loss prevention employees.
The Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide because he chose to jump rather than be apprehended, according to Goranitis.
Meantime, a senior police commander told CBS4 investigative reporter Jim DeFede that Andre had some connection to several South Florida gangs and some of those gang members were in attendance at his wake to pay their respects.
The commander said someone at the wake touched Andre's body in the casket in a way that other gangs took as disrespectful. This led to an argument inside the funeral home which spilled out to the street.
Members of one gang retrieved an assault rifle and a handgun from a car and opened fire at other gang members in front of the funeral home, according to the CBS4 source.
Investigators believe that a white vehicle may be involved, according to Miami-Dade Police.
Pastor A.D. Lenoir Sr., who presided over the funeral service for Morvin Andre, said it was a chaotic scene after the shooting and he tried to calm everyone down.
"It was horrific, people were going crazy, screaming, running, just chaos."
Pastor Lenoir was with the victim who died on the scene. "It's horrible seeing someone pass on like that."
Lenoir had a message to community following the shooting.
"It's horrible the way our young people are responding to anger, to frustration, to their fears, to whatever issues they're experiencing, it's a low-down shame and I think it should quit. If you have problems, I think you should talk to your pastor, talk to someone that can help you, not to respond violently."
Witness Jacques Leonet agreed.
"It's more than crazy. They are destroying the community."
No arrests have been made.
A total of 14 people were shot which makes it one of the worst mass shootings in the history ofSouth Florida.
Click Here to read about the history of mass shootings inSouth Florida.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers (305)471-TIPS (8477) or (866) 471-8477
Visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select "Give a Tip" Send a text message to 274637. Enter CSMD followed by the tip information and press send.
