Witnesses recount seeing mother being fatally shot in front of her 6 children in northeast Miami-Dade

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ Witnesses are sharing the horrific details after a mother was shot to death in front of her six children in northeast Miami-Dade on Tuesday.

Miami-Dade police responded to a shooting call around 3:45 p.m. in the area of Oak Grove Park, located at Northeast 159th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Authorities said 33-year-old Jeretha Lawson was behind the wheel of an SUV with her six children, ranging between the ages of 7 and 17 years old, when some kind of dispute occurred between Lawson and another group.

Eustace Norris, who lives nearby, told Local 10 News on Wednesday that she was in the backyard of her home when she ā€œheard a loud sound.ā€

According to investigators, as Lawson attempted to flee after the gunfire, the victim crashed into two parked cars, one of which belonged to Norris, who said she heard the children screaming for their mother.

ā€œThey were crying like crazy -- had some blood on them,ā€ Norris said. ā€œNo one values life anymore.ā€

A neighbor told Local 10 News that she knew something was wrong after police immediately told her to go inside.

ā€œAt that time the cops told us to go inside and lock the doors and then I heard somebody said a woman got shot in the head,ā€ said Colleen McCarthy.

According to police, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel attempted to transport Lawson to a nearby hospital, but she died at the scene.

Lawsonā€™s boyfriend of more than five years told Local 10 News that his partner worked as a home healthcare aid and that she was a giving person.

He says Lawson was a mother to seven children and one of her kids was not in the car at the time of the shooting.

Detectives said the suspect involved in the shooting fled the scene before police arrived. They are working to find and speak with the other people who were involved in the dispute.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call 911 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.


About the Authors
Ryan Mackey headshot

Ryan Mackey is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. He was born in Long Island, New York, and has lived in Sunrise, Florida since 1994.

Liane Morejon headshot

Liane Morejon is an Emmy-winning reporter who joined the Local 10 News family in January 2010. Born and raised in Coral Gables, Liane has a unique perspective on covering news in her own backyard.

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