MIAMI (WSVN) - Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood was rocked by gunfire Sunday afternoon, claiming the lives of two people and sending two others to the hospital.
According to City of Miami Police, four males — including two teens, 18-year old Rickey Dixon and 17-year old Kimson Green — were shot near Northwest 63rd Street and 13th Avenue, at around 2 p.m. Responding officers found the victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
Investigators said the assailants fired at least 25 shots and took off.
“According to preliminary information, they had been sitting down on the alleyway off of 13th Avenue and 63rd Street when they were approached by suspects,” said Miami Police officer Kiara Delva. “It is believed that there are multiple shooters, but we cannot confirm an exact number.”
One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Miami Fire Rescue units rushed the three other victims to Ryder Trauma Center, where a second victim succumbed to his injuries a short time later.
7News cameras captured distraught family members consoling each other outside Jackson Memorial Hospital.
A relative spoke to 7News about Dixon. “A family’s kid. We never had any problems out of Ricky,” she said.
Back at the crime scene, investigators collected evidence as they attempted to piece together what led to the shooting.
Dwight Wells said he knows the victims who were killed.
“This is a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “It broke me down to have kids who I know personally, I spoke with and dealt with, dead on the pavement in the streets of Miami.”
City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said there is a possible motive behind the shooting.
“It appears that it was gang-related,” he said.
Suarez also said the work to stop the violence starts now.
“They’re going to have an action plan tomorrow. We suspect we’re going to have a 24-hour presence, increased presence in this particular neighborhood, because two of the incidents have happened here,” he said.
Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho confirmed Dixon and one of the injured victims are students at Miami Northwestern Senior High School.
“One of the students who was shot yesterday — was a student at Northwestern — was killed,” said Carvalho. “This was a 10th grader who had just made the National Honors Society.”
“Bad things are happening to these kids outside of school, and we need to do better as adults.” he added.
Miami Northwestern Principal Wallace Aistide spoke on Monday morning and said, “Today is a very tragic day for us here at Miami Northwesterm. One of our students that we were so proud of, that we lost, was truly unfortunate incident that transpired in our community.”
The shooting took place about two blocks away from where 4-year-old Nyla Jones was shot and killed during an argument between her uncle and her mother, last weekend. The scene of Saturday’s shooting remained active as night fell in Liberty City.
“No more violence, so that the kids can see a better outlook on life.” said Wells.
Detectives are withholding the other victims’ identity until next of kin are notified.
“It’s very important for anyone who knows anything to please come forward, so we can stop this violence,” said Delva.
Police shut down Northwest 13th Court and 14th Avenue between 63rd and 64th streets while they investigated. Traffic has since reopened.
If you have any information on this shooting, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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