LAUDERHILL, Fla. – The shooting of a teenager in Lauderhill Tuesday has residents like Mike Dupre fed up.
Shots rang out in the middle of a residential road at a gated Lauderhill development at around 5:30 p.m., near a basketball court where children were playing.
“It has just been back-to-back shootings and we got to do something,” Dupre said.
Medics rushed the victim to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition.
Lauderhill police said he and three other teens got into a fight when one of them pulled out a gun and started shooting. The three others ran before officers arrived.
“I saw the young man on the floor, face down and I was like whoa, I hope he is alright,” Dupre said.
The shooting is the latest within the city that has seen a recent spike in violence.
For that reason, police said they’re now taking a more proactive approach: increasing patrols, hiring more officers and establishing highly trained teams to keep residents safe.
“The city has recently established a street enforcement team which is responsible for addressing violent crimes within the city,” Lauderhill police Maj. Mike Santiago said.
While that team is composed of highly trained personnel, Santiago said it can only work with the help of the community engagement, something investigators say they are not seeing enough of.
“Don’t wait for something to happen,” he said. “Engage with your local law enforcement.”
Police said they also plan to use ShotSpotter within the city to detect gunfire faster. The technology remains in a testing phase.
Local 10 News has learned that the victim attends Boyd Anderson High School and remained in critical condition as of early Wednesday evening.