HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hallandale Beach police and Broward Crime Stoppers are offering a total reward of up to $16,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible for gunning down a father Wednesday night in front of two of his children.
Relatives of the victim told Local 10 News that Ollie Mingo, 38, was fatally shot in the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue near Ninth Street.
Mingo's niece collapsed as authorities told her that Mingo had died.
The family said he was in his work uniform when he was shot and had just picked up his 14- and 17-year-old children, a boy and a girl.
Relatives said they were headed home and turned down a street when they saw some teenagers dancing outside.
They circled the block and came back to watch.
"They wanted to watch the battle," Mingo's niece, Mercedes Dericho, said. "They watched the performance. My uncle started to drive off. They decided to come back around and watch for a little bit more. As they drove off, shots were fired at the car."
Neighbors said there is a turf war going on in the block between gangs and whoever pulled the trigger must have been suspicious.
Shots were fired as the car was moving, and Mingo was shot and killed in front of his children.
Relatives said Mingo's foot hit the gas pedal, which caused him to crash the car into a utility pole.
Authorities believe that the shooter knew that there were children in the vehicle, but fired anyway.
Loved ones said Mingo held the same job as a floor manager at a battery shop for 15 years. They said he did not smoke or drink and was a good father to his three children.
"He works from 6 o'clock in the morning until 6 o'clock at night, and he gets off of work and goes straight to his kids," Mingo's girlfriend, Iris Valdez, said. "This shouldn't have happened."
Mingo's family pleads for the public to come forward with answers.
"If you did this by mistake, just turn yourself in. You took away my brother," Vonetta Demeritte said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest and the city of Hallandale Beach is offering an additional $13,000 reward.