HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - A Homestead neighborhood was rattled by gunfire, leaving a man dead and sending three other people to the hospital, as authorities investigate a possible link between the barrage of bullets and another incident along the Palmetto Expressway.
Homestead Police, Miami-Dade Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Southwest Sixth Street and Seventh Avenue, at around 3:50 p.m., Sunday.
A 61-year-old resident who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera described the chaotic scene.
“I came out and seen police coming from every corner, blocking the streets off, so I knew something terrible had took place,” he said.
Surveillance video captured multiple gunshots, followed by the sound of a screeching car.
“You hear shots all the time, but nothing of that magnitude ever took place before,” said the resident.
MDPD detectives said three men and a woman were leaving a home when they came under fire.
“There was a vehicle that approached a residence, and there was a shooting that came from the vehicle,” said MDPD detective Angel Rodriguez.
By the time paramedics arrived, one of the men was dead.
Paramedics transported the surviving victims to Jackson South Medical Center, where they are listed in stable condition.
7News cameras captured at least four bullet holes in a silver Volkswagen sedan, a slew of evidence markers and bloodstained concrete.
“I seen the guy was in the doorway. The police were trying to resuscitate him, and he was laying there, just laying there,” said the unidentified resident, “and the people they were pulling out of the car, and they airlifted one, and others they put in the medic van.”
Meanwhile, Florida Highway Patrol investigators are working a shooting, which they said may be connected, along the Palmetto Expressway in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Troopers said that while road rangers were loading up a stalled Nissan Altima near Southwest 40th Street, someone in a blue Chevy Malibu pulled up and began shooting.
Investigators said the Nissan was struck, but no one was hurt.
As for the drive-by shooting in Homestead, neighbors hope something changes.
“A senseless life that’s been taken, you know, and life is more abundant than that,” said the unidentified resident. “We’ve got to be more mindful of that, but until people get it together, this is what it’s going to boil down to.”
If you have any information on either the drive-by shooting or the shots fired highway incident, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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