MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A shooting that sparked chaos on Ocean Drive and sent a man to the hospital was triggered by an altercation that escalated until, police said, a man was forced to defend his loved ones from an attacker.
According to Miami Beach Police, 26-year-old Mamadou Bah got into an altercation with a couple from Miami at around 6:45 p.m., Saturday.
Investigators said Bah, a Brooklyn resident, started fighting with three men on a packed stretch of Ocean Drive near 10th Street. Like many bystanders, local resident Christopher Key took out his cellphone and started recording the scuffle.
Shortly after, police said, Bah turned around and charged at Key and his companion, Schae Thompson, hitting her as the couple tried to get away.
Witness Cristian Colon said he was having dinner with his wife when he saw Thompson trying to keep Key and Bah apart.
“There was a woman, crazy, yelling, ‘Get out of here!’ Cursing, trying to, I guess, pull them apart, but she couldn’t,” said Colon.
Key told police the couple’s 8-month-old child was with them at the time. Fearing for his loved ones’ safety, officials said, Key fired a gun, striking Bah in the arm.
“I didn’t see the gun, but I heard the shots, though,” said Colon, “and I saw the guy looking at himself, and I saw blood coming from one of his arms.”
Pandemonium ensued along the iconic street.
“I just saw a bunch of people running for their lives,” said a witness. “It looked like it was in a movie.”
“Knowing where I was, I thought it was somebody playing with fireworks or something,” said another witness, “and then, when I looked up, I could see the guy right there, on his knees with his gun around the side of him, and I knew it was real.”
Cellphone video captured a woman with a child and a stroller leaving the crime scene.
Rescue crews took Bah to an area hospital for treatment.
7News reached out to Thompson, but she declined a request for an interview.
Bah has been charged with battery. He has not yet appeared in bond court.
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