LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Newly released surveillance video captured moments of panic when a man pointed a gun on a playground in Lauderhill and opened fire, sending two teenage boys to the hospital, leading police to make an arrest and prompting a concerned community to take a stand against rising crime in their city.
The security footage shows a man firing a barrage of bullets outside an apartment complex along the 2000 block of Northwest 43rd Terrace, Wednesday afternoon.
According to Lauderhill Police, the shooter is now behind bars. Thirty-three-year-old Kurt Cranston was arrested on Friday and is facing two charges of attempted murder.
7Skyforce captured blood splattered on the pavement not long after the incident, as well as a handgun on the grass.
Detectives said Cranston was targeting a 16- and 17-year-old in the playground.
The surveillance video shows the suspect walking with the gun under his armpit and then suddenly ambushing the victims.
Paramedics transported both teens to Broward Health Medical Center with gunshot wounds, where they remain.
7News spoke to the grandmother of the older boy, as well as a family friend who asked not to show her face on camera.
“[It happened on] the last week of school,” said the grandmother.
“I just came to give my moral support,” said the family friend.
Loved ones are left wondering why this happened in the first place, but area residents said this neighborhood has changed considerably in the last years.
“Very disturbing,” said Ms. V, a local activist.
“You come home, and you see this, and you wonder what the heck is going on and something like that,” said area resident Herbert Waters. “You got helicopters, you got 20 polices, 30 polices, undercovers, and you’re like, ‘What in the world is going on?’ I’m a citizen, and as a citizen, I don’t want this in my neighborhood.”
The community is now taking matters into their own hands. On Saturday, people walked together from the Lauderhill Police Station to City Hall.
“We’re walking for the future of our children,” said Lauderhill Mayor Denise Grant.
Participants said they hope to bring unity instead of violence in their streets.
“There has been an uptick of crime in the city, and what we’re trying to do is come together collectively to walk in unity,” said Grant. “We’re saying that ‘not in our city anymore.’ We’re taking a stand.”
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