NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police officers responded to surround a crime scene in Northwest Miami-Dade with their guns drawn, after a man, who enjoyed to work with children, was found dead.
Several police cruisers responded to the neighborhood to investigate a death that happened on Northwest 72nd Street near 14th Avenue, around 6 a.m., Friday.
Around 4:30 a.m., police responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the aforementioned area where they found a man with a gunshot wound near a car.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived on the scene to perform CPR, but the victim was pronounced deceased on the scene.
According to family members, his name was Maurice Reese Bellamy.
Bellamy’s mother, Lashika Nelson, reacted to the news of her son’s death Friday morning.
“He’s a beautiful soul, he’s a beautiful soul,” Nelson said. “He was a wonderful young man, very well known to the community.”
She said he was going to swap cars with her.
“He needed my vehicle cause it’s bigger to move his office from one place to another; he just got a promotion.
Miami-Dade Public Schools confirmed that Bellamy was an employee. He was currently working at Lorah Park Elementary.
His mother said helping children was his passion.
“He loves planning for parties and decorating, and he’s into the youth ministry at church,” she said.
A friend mentioned he was in the area to visit his grandmother after a homecoming event for Florida Memorial University.
Bellamy’s godfather, who is a pastor, said he was in church with the victim on Sunday.
They have no idea what could have led up to this incident, as Bellamy was not the type of person to have trouble around him, said loved ones.
“If it was the car that they were after, then he would have just have given it up. We can always get another car, and from what I’m looking at, that’s what it looks like: that they were after his car,” Nelson said.
Crime Scene Investigation vans were seen arriving on the street around 8 a.m. to aid in the investigation.
Police have confirmed that the incident was a shooting.
It is still unknown whether investigators are declaring this incident a homicide or if they are looking for another person involved.
Nelson has a message for her son’s killer.
“Whoever’s responsible for this, you can run, but I don’t know if you gonna be able to hide,” she said.
If you have any information on Bellamy’s shooting death, 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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