MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A death investigation is underway after a mother found a body near an apartment complex in Miami Gardens.
Miami Gardens Police said they responded to reports of shots fired at the Villas Del Lago apartment complex in the area of Northwest 14th Place near 214th Street, at around 6:30 a.m., Friday.
A woman who lives in the complex told 7News she was taking her children to school when she saw the deceased man, with a gunshot wound to the chest, lying on the ground, just behind the complex’s tennis court.
“Taking my kids to school, I saw a dead body laying there,” she said. “He not breathing, cars are passing him by, he’s not moving. From where I was sitting, you could actually see something on his chest.”
After news crews arrived, the body of the victim could be seen covered with a yellow tarp.
The woman’s quick thinking led police to the scene.
“Obviously, the humane thing to do is, ‘OK, someone is laying here. Let me call 911,'” she said.
Neighbors learned of the news Friday afternoon.
“That’s disheartening. That’s kind of scary,” said a neighbor sitting in a car.
Officers set up a large perimeter, as they combed the scene for clues for several hours.
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent and a K-9 were also on the scene gathering evidence.
Residents of the complex called the shooting scary but far from shocking.
“I never witnessed anything like that, but I’ve heard gunshots here before,” the woman said.
“I’m not surprised at all. I mean they literally put bulletins on our doors when somebody broke into somebody’s car or when somebody got mugged or when there was a shooting,” said the neighbor. “They put bulletins, and that’s it. No extra security, no police, no nothing.”
It remains unclear what happened that ended in the victim’s death.
Miami Gardens Police have not revealed the victim’s identity.
At this time no arrests have been made.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.