MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida mother is grieving the loss of her son, who was one of three people killed in a shooting at a graduation party in Southwest Miami-Dade.
All three victims were related, Local 10 has learned.
That mother, Candis Hilton, said her son didn’t often go out and that she actually encouraged him to attend the event.
“He was my only child, I don’t have no more kids,” she said, speaking to Local 10 by phone just three days after losing her son, William Everett Jr.
“I can’t even put that into words,” she said.
Everett, 22, was killed along with his two cousins, 20-year-old Tyleshia Taylor, who was a state corrections officer, and 18-year old Jahem Ziegler. They were all celebrating a loved one’s graduation.
The grief surrounding the fatal shooting is hitting Hilton especially hard, as she was babysitting Everett’s young son that night.
“His number one concern was his son, so he didn’t hang out,” she said. “Everything he did, he did with his son. That night, I told him to have fun, to go out.”
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows a calm night prior to the drive-by shooting, then the flashing of police lights.
Local 10 has learned that three teens who were at a hookah lounge that night have since been arrested, but for a separate shooting.
Quantayvius McCutchen, 19, his brother Yahtayvius McCutchen, 17, and their friend Keyshad Richardson, 19, have all been charged with attempted murder.
Police believe an ongoing feud was sparked up with other partygoers.
The arrestees are accused of following a car that left the hookah lounge and firing shots into a car on the Turnpike, injuring the driver.
Police have not made any direct connection from the three arrested teens to the actual mass shooting, which has left the lounge closed and facing thousands of dollars in fines for various safety, electrical and plumbing code violations.
Hilton, meanwhile, is pleading for justice, telling Local 10 her son was just an innocent bystander.
“It’s one thing to have a target, it’s another thing to shoot randomly,” she said. “That’s stupid.”
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