MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two days after a mass shooting in Miami-Dade County, there were still more than a dozen people hospitalized. They were at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Aventura, Kendall Regional, and Memorial Regional. Their families are waiting for updates.
Detectives are searching for the three armed males who shot 23 people in 10 seconds early Sunday morning during a rapper’s party in Miami-Dade County. Two 26-year-old men died and 21 victims — ages 17 to 32 — were wounded.
Surveillance video shows a crowd standing outside of the El Mula Banquet Hall, at 7630 NW 186 St. They were waiting to get inside to celebrate with Courtney Paul Wilson, 24, better known as rapper Alley Boy Music Group’s Spitta. It was the release of his new album “Round of Applause: Book of Spitta, Vol. 1.”
MDPD Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III said on Monday the shooting stemmed from the lyrics of a rap song. He said music videos with “trigger words” prompted “a retaliation.” On Tuesday, he spoke to reporters again.
“We are on a zero-tolerance posture right now ... those that are out there committing gun violence, breaking the law, you are going to go to jail,” Ramirez said. “My officers are mobilized. All the resources of the Miami-Dade Police Department will be on the streets to keep this community safe.”
Surveillance video shows a white Nissan Pathfinder parked on a side road. Three males armed with rifles jumped off. Witnesses said they fired their weapons. The video shows the crowd ran for cover. A man who had been standing a foot away from the door didn’t get very far.
There was a couple. The man ran. The woman fell down in between two cars. Another man crawled toward the woman, shielded her with his body, and hid behind her and a car. The couple was reunited after the shooting stopped.
Once the shooters left. The man who shielded the woman sat up straight and saw a man dying on the floor. Fire Rescue personnel found two dead. A grieving father identified one of them as Clayton Dillard and relatives identified the other as Desmond “Des” Owens.
On Monday, divers found the Nissan Pathfinder that the shooters used to getaway. It was submerged in a canal about 9 miles away from the crime scene. The divers hooked the car so a tow truck could pull it out of the water. Detectives said the sports utility vehicle had been reported stolen on May 15.
“All our families deserve to live in neighborhoods free of crime,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “It should not be dictated by your zip code.”
Miami-Dade detectives are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
There is a $130,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Marcus Lemonis contributed $100,000; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives contributed $25,000; and Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers contributed $5,000.