Woman charged in deadly shooting at Miami Gardens library parking lot
MIAMI - An arrest has been made in a deadly shooting outside the North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens.
The shooting happened Wednesday just before 5:30 p.m.
Witnesses told police they saw a woman in the parking lot shoot another woman at close range. They said the bullets struck the woman in the head and chest. As she fell, the armed woman walked over, stood over her body, and shot her in the head. She then walked away.
"When people did come and circle around the body, no one actually did CPR or any resuscitation attempts," a witness named Tiana who only wanted to give her first name. "It's almost like you already knew this person passed away."
The woman died in the parking lot, according to police.
The sirens, flashing lights, and the swarm of police around the library startled Mario Sheard whose son Emmanuel, 18, went inside to study after school.
"When I (saw) the yellow tape I lost my mind," Sheard said. "I didn't know what was going on."
According to police, officers spotted a woman matching the description of the shooter in the area.
They identified her as 64-year-old Joyce Small.
She was taken to the police department where she was questioned.
According to police, Small said she knew the woman as Sarai and she was homeless. Small said she would help her from time to time, allowing her into her home to eat, shower, and sleep.
Small said at one point she believed Sarai was having an affair with her boyfriend and she would spy on him. She said she found him with his wife, but not Sarai.
Small said over the last few months, Sarai "began to mistreat her and beat her up," according to the arrest report.
She said when she went to the library, she saw Sarai there and believed she "purposely agitated her."
Surveillance video from the library shows Small emerge from the bushes as Sarai walks toward the parking lot. It then shows her approaching the woman and shooting her.
Small was arrested and charged with first degree murder.
