CUTLER BAY, Fla. – Two men who were injured Monday night near a park in Cutler Bay are not cooperating with the investigation, police confirmed to Local 10 News Tuesday.
According to residents in the area, a group of people were having dinner outside just before 8 p.m. when the shooting occurred near Franjo Park, located at 20175 Franjo Road. A children’s baseball game was being held when the shooting happened, sending families scrambling to take cover.
Mickey Lopez, head coach of one of the teams on the field at the time of the incident, said the moment was “total chaos.”
He added, “I don’t know how we ended up behind home plate, but that’s where we hunkered down with the kids — we threw our bodies over them.”
Justin Villalona, a little league player, recounted the frantic scene.
“Every parent of the kids was on top of them just in case one of the gunshots landed on them,” he said.
The gunfire originated just a block away, where a shootout occurred between neighbors and several shooters in a passing vehicle. Authorities later found two men shot at a nearby gas station, and detectives are focusing their investigation on the surrounding area.
A nearby vehicle sustained more than a dozen bullet holes from the shooting.
Noon report:
Jose Madrid told Local 10 his car does not even turn on anymore.
“I would have easily lost my life there -- look, 18 shots on the car,” he said in Spanish.
Other neighbors say they were outside with their kids, when they were forced to grab them and find shelter.
“I have never seen something like this -- we have lived here for 10 years,” Ricardo Freitas said in Spanish.
After the shooting, police were also spotted at the Amoco gas station, where they found the shooting victims. Crime scene tape and evidence markers surrounded the area where, according to witnesses, another shooting took place.
“There is the guy -- you see him right there in the white shirt -- the guy in the white shirt was shooting back!” a witness who took video of the shooting said.
Parents watching the baseball game filmed on their phones, as they also took cover.
Neighbors told Local 10 they are shocked as the area has always been peaceful and quiet.
“We walk every morning and we see less and less policemen viewing the area, and it concerns me,” Barbara Mesa said. “I have a grandson that is 9. We wanted him to play baseball and it’s concerning that there are so many children here all the time.”
Steve Flyn, another grandparent who attended the game, described the panic to Local 10 News.
“All the parents started yelling, ‘Get down, get down, gunfire.’ Everyone was grabbing kids. My wife jumped under the picnic table,” he said.
Flyn said he was at the game with his 8-year-old grandson when the gunfire broke out. He noted the quick actions of the adults at the scene.
“The coaches, the parents, the umpire — everyone was covering over kids,” he said.
Residents like Daniela Madrid shared their shock as the violence spilled over into their neighborhood. Her father’s car was struck by bullets.
“Apparently, the neighbors had gotten into some sort of retaliation thing with some other people when there was a drive-by,” she said.
Her father, Jose Madrid, recounted the terrifying experience.
“I could have lost my life there because look —18 shots hit that car,” he said.
Police are still investigating the shooting and discovered additional shell casings at a nearby Amoco gas station and barbershop.
Barbershop owner Charles Guevara also shared his concern over the incident with Local 10 News.
“To have kids close by and having a shootout like that — it was pretty intense, man. And for it to be so close to us,” Guevara said.
The shooting victims were transported to a hospital where they are recovering from their injuries.
A motive remains unclear and no arrests have been made.
Miami-Dade police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.