TAMARAC, FLA. (WSVN) - Loved ones have identified the 3-year-old girl who, police said, was shot and killed in a hotel in Tamarac, as detectives continue to piece together what led to the tragedy.
Family members said D’Yonnie Cleveland lost her life in a room at the Extended Stay America on West Commercial Boulevard, near U.S. 441, Saturday morning.
Speaking with 7News Sunday night, the child’s aunt, Connie Hafley, said her family is still reeling from the devastating and sudden loss.
“We’re just doing the best we can,” she said.
Hafley described the moment she learned about the shooting.
“I got the call that my niece is gone, but [a family member] called me screaming,” she said.
Since then, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies have guarded the first-floor room. The door was taped off after investigators spent hours searching for evidence inside the unit and throughout the parking lot.
Neighbors said they heard a single gunshot that echoed through the hotel at around 8 a.m. on Saturday.
“‘Pow!’ It exploded, one shot. That was it,” said a woman.
The woman told 7News it had been a noisy night leading up to the fatal shot.
“I was coming out the door, I could hear screaming, ‘My baby dead, my baby dead,'” she said.
A few miles away from the Extended America, deputies surrounded a white pickup truck. Witnesses said they saw the same truck peeling out of the area after the shooting.
“This three-year-old girl was going to turn four Dec. 31,” said Claudinne Caro, a BSO spokesperson. “During this Thanksgiving, a family was shattered. They are going through something unimaginable.”
Surveillance footage from a car wash showed two people walking back to armed deputies. The duo were detained but later released.
Back at the hotel, neighbors and family alike remembered a joyful toddler whose life was tragically cut short.
“A lot of the people here knew who she was. She did arts and crafts with the other kids,” said a woman.
“Detectives are focused on gathering the information and trying to determine exactly why this happened, who did it, in hopes of bringing this family at least some sense of closure,” said Caro.
BSO has not released information on where exactly the bullet came from but is continuing the investigation.
If you have any information on this shooting, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.