MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The family of 30-year-old Ladarian Phillips, who was shot in South Beach over a parking spot, is speaking out.
The shooting took place in South Beach on Ocean Drive near Second Street, Sunday night. “He said, ‘Father, I’m going out to Miami Beach, and I’ll be back Sunday,’ and I said to him ‘Be careful, the world has changed,'” said Tommy Scott, Phillips’ father, Tuesday, “and those were the last words I said to him.”
Phillips and his friend, Edward Ellis, confronted a group of men inside a BMW after they saw the vehicle hit their car, according to police.
The driver of the BMW was trying to park in a tight spot when they hit another vehicle.
When the victim and his friend confronted the men, the driver allegedly handed 18-year-old Jeffery Alexander a gun. Alexander then opened fire around 10:30 p.m.
“What they did was wrong. You didn’t have to shoot him about a parking spot. They were going to go anyway, so they should have just waited,” said Phillips’ sister, Shatwon Philips. “They took my baby, man. That was my baby.”
Ellis was taken to a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound and was later released.
Phillips was shot in the back and died in the hospital the next morning.
“Wherever he went, he had fun. He never harmed nobody,” said Scott.
Police later tracked down the BMW a few blocks away, at Fifth Street and Alton Road. Police said they were forced to open fire, killing one of the men in the car.
Alexander appeared in bond court Tuesday and faces one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder.
As Alexander waits to hear his fate, Phillips’ family hopes for justice.
Phillips leaves behind a 1-year-old son, Ladarian Jr., a fiancé and several loved ones.
“Everybody that hurt him have to stand up for what they did,” said Scott. “That’s my closure.”
The family of Phillips has started a GoFundMe page, which can be found here.
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