MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach police say two people responsible for Monday night’s shooting that injured two people on South Beach are in custody.
Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby, who was among several people detained for questioning in the incident, has been released.
Christopher Urena, 29, of Davie is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, grand theft and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Wisdom Awute, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was also arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.
His arrest report lists Awute as a recording artist, who’s also part of rapper DaBaby’s entourage.
According to Urena’s arrest report, he shot at one person following an altercation with a group of people.
Police said he then jumped into a Chrysler 300 that wasn’t his and fled the scene before being stopped by officers.
Urena claimed he was just moving the car because it was blocking the valet area in front of Prime 112, authorities said.
Awute’s arrest report confirms he was also involved in the verbal altercation before pointing his gun at two victims, one of whom he shot in the right calf.
The shooting occurred just after 11:30 p.m. near the corner of Ocean Drive and First Street, just blocks away from South Pointe Park.
“I actually thought it was like fireworks, because this is a very touristy area,” said Dimitri James, who lives nearby.
But James quickly realized that he was actually hearing gunshots.
“I thought I heard like, it might have been a gun battle because it was like, ‘boom, boom, boom, boom boom,’ just nonstop. Then it died out, and like five minutes later, again, ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,’” he said.
The shots were so loud that residents in nearby high rises started recording the scene from their balconies.
Multiple people called 911 to report hearing gunshots.
Police arrived at the scene to find two people who had been shot — one in the leg, the other in the shoulder.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue crews rushed both victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez confirmed that one of the victims has been treated and released from the hospital. He said the second victim remains hospitalized in critical condition. According to a police report, that victim has been paralyzed as a result of the shooting.
The victims’ identities have not yet been released.
Just seconds after the shots ended, police could be seen appearing to take two men into custody and detectives temporarily shut down the MacArthur Causeway at one point during the investigation.
Rodriguez confirmed that officers had “several possible subjects detained,” including the 29-year-old rapper DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk.
UPDATE: Jonathan Lyndale Kirk who was being interviewed by detectives has been released. Detectives have two subjects in custody who are responsible for Monday evening’s shooting near 1 Street and Ocean Drive.
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) June 1, 2021
DaBaby was arrested in Miami early in 2020 on a battery charge after a dispute over money to perform at a South Florida nightclub.
Residents and tourists in the area expressed shock about Monday night’s incident.
“It is kind of scary. We are just on vacation,” said Nahal Sekhani, who is visiting from Chicago with her family and staying at a hotel across from the crime scene. “We were outside and I was with my boyfriend and we were walking and then we just saw blood on the floor.”
Noah Wilson, who lives nearby and shot cellphone video of the scene, says he also thought the gunfire might have been fireworks at first.
“People were running and people were screaming and so we pulled up the binoculars and started looking and quickly grab our phones and see what we can get,” he said.
Of the violence near his home, James said: “It’s becoming the norm now. This was supposed to be, south of 5th, supposed to be where tranquility is. This is why I moved here, but apparently not.”
Anyone with further information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.