POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A crash led to shots being fired overnight in Pompano Beach.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue responded to the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard just after 12:15 a.m. Friday.
According to authorities, a blue Ford Fusion were heading east on the 2700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard when the Ford collided with a black 2015 Audi A4 that failed to yield the right of way.
One of the victims inside the Ford said things quickly escalated from there.
“All of a sudden, we get hit – spin around a couple of times. We get out of the car, we take a look, and we see that he hit us,” one of the victims, Lafayette Harvard, said. “And he was like, ‘You hit us, and somebody is going to pay.’ And he went to his trunk, got a gun and when I turned around and saw that he had a gun, I turned around and he fired a couple of shots. And he went over by the car and shot our car three times.”
The victim says the gunman, later identified by authorities as Ricardo Joseph, 32, was carrying two small children around 3 or 4 years old when he ran away from the scene.
Local 10 News obtained surveillance video from a nearby business that shows Joseph leaving the scene of the crash with the two small children.
Detectives confirmed that Joseph was taken into custody a short time later and transported to a hospital for medical clearance.
No other injuries were reported.
BSO Violent Crimes Unit detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash and shooting. The Child Protective Investigation Section (CPIS) was also contacted.
According to jail records, Joseph remains in the Broward County Main Jail and faces a number of charges that include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and child neglect.
He is expected to face a judge on Saturday.