MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A street shooting and a crash against a tree injured two men near Rolling Oaks Park in Miami Gardens on the evening of Thanksgiving and now residents are sharing the moment they were shaken by gunfire with Local 10 News.
The shooting was shortly before 6 p.m., near Northwest 183 Street and 17 Avenue, according to the Miami Gardens Police Department. Police officers found the two men injured inside a damaged gray BMW, near Northwest 185 Terrace.
“We were sitting in my backyard, we were on our back porch and everyone heard shots and we just lay down because we didn’t know what the hell was going on,” said a Miami Gardens resident. “I was scared half to death.”
The BMW’s airbag deployed. The car had over a dozen bullet holes. One man suffered several gunshot wounds; the other suffered injuries from the impact of the crash, police said.
Miami-Dade fire rescue personnel used a helicopter to respond to the trauma alert and flew the wounded man to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue ambulance rushed the other man to the hospital.
One woman who asked to remain unidentified told Local 10 News that she heard at least 20 rounds of gunfire shot outside of their home.
“I heard six shots, six and (they) started shooting again. They shot maybe another, another 15 to 17 shots, it was over 20 rounds out here.”
“The investigation is ongoing, but I can assure you that there is no threat to the public,” said Sgt. Emmanuel Jeanty, a spokesman for the Miami Gardens Police Department.
Neighbors in Miami Gardens are now hoping that the community will come together and help police find the shooter or shooters responsible.
“If you see something, say something. How are they ever going to learn that no one has the right to take no one else’s life, you don’t have that right,” said one Miami Gardens resident.
Authorities have not provided an update on the condition of the man who was hospitalized in the shooting.
Detectives said a motive in the shooting remains unclear at this time.
Detectives asked anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Local 10 News Photojournalist Chris Hinson and Assignment Desk Editor Wilson Louis contributed to this report.