SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A teenager has been hospitalized after, police said, he took two bullets during a drive-by shooting near a Southwest Miami-Dade park.
Miami-Dade Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units were called to the scene in the area of Southwest 108th Court and 227th Terrace, at around 6:30 p.m., Tuesday.
According to police, a teenage male was shot once in the arm and once in the leg during the shooting. The victim told them he was shot near Debbie Curtin Park.
Frankie Lacayo said he was nearby when he heard the victim calling for help.
“I saw him, and I heard him,” Lacayo said. “He was like, ‘Somebody help me, please,’ and that’s when I stopped talking and just ran over there. I wasn’t thinking. It was just a kid on the ground screaming for help.”
Witnesses said the young man stumbled into a nearby neighborhood, where he collapsed.
Paramedics transported the victim to Jackson South Medical Center as a trauma alert. Witnesses said the teen was alert as he was taken to the hospital.
Neighbors told 7News they saw the victim, who looked no older than 15 or 16 years old, and a teenage girl walking towards the park shortly before the bullets started flying.
Lacayo said he rushed over and told another neighbor to bring a shirt to use as a rag.
“I’m not trained medically or anything, but I just wanted to stop the bleeding, and that’s when I called 911,” he said. “I’m trying to wrap his leg up to get him to stop bleeding, and that’s when I’m explaining to them, and then he’s like, ‘My arm, too,’ and that’s when I tore a couple more pieces and wrapped it up as tight as I could.”
Neighbor Veronica Flores was in her backyard with her kids when she heard the shots ring out.
“I hope that he’s OK. They took him immediately to the hospital because he was bleeding a lot,” said Flores. “I heard the shot like it was here, in my ear. It was so loud. It was so close. All I saw was the kid running from that side of the fence, running towards our neighborhood.”
Then Flores heard a knock on her front door.
“I didn’t open the door immediately because I got really scared because of the gunshots. When I came outside, there were other neighbors trying to help the kid. He was sitting on this chair. He was bleeding. It was very frightening to see this young kid sitting on this chair bleeding. It was just a horrible scene to see,” said Flores.
Detectives could be seen going door-to-door and blocking off part of the park while they searched for clues to help them track down the shooter.
While the young victim recovers from his injuries, Lacayo, a father and neighbor-turned-good-Samaritan, said he had no choice but to help out.
When asked if he thought of himself as a hero, Lacayo said, “You got kids? If you got kids, you know.”
The teen’s mom said he is recovering and getting around with the help of a wheelchair.
If you have any information on this shooting, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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