SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A teen has been left in critical condition after a drive-by shooting in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Police officers responded to the scene along the 26000 block of SW 139th Avenue at around 10:44 p.m., Tuesday.
“I’m tired of my kids’ lives being put at risk,” resident Britney Bryant said. “These kids are innocent. They can’t come outside and play.”
Neighbors are frustrated and fed up with the gun violence they say is plaguing their Southwest Miami-Dade community.
A neighbor shared a video with 7News of a helicopter flying overhead and police responding to the drive-by shooting.
“There was just a riddling of gunshots,” Bryant said.
Bullet holes appear to have been left behind in the apartment building. One of them went right on Bryant’s front door.
“I heard it, and I ran upstairs as quick as I could to go check on my kids, to make sure my kids were OK, because at the end of the day that’s all that matters,” she said.
Bryant says thankfully her kids were OK, but just next door, a teenager was shot and airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hosptial.
7News spoke to the victim’s mom, who asked not to go on camera or be identified, but said her son has a punctured lung and is currently in the ICU.
She said her son was an innocent bystander and was just sitting in the back porch when the shooting started. The victim is a freshman at South Dade Senior High School.
Miami-Dade School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho tweeted: “Heartbroken to begin the day w/ news of yet another incident of senseless gun violence, this time injuring a 9th grader. Praying for a speedy recovery and hoping that others join me in standing up & speaking up about this ongoing issue that pains our community.”
Heartbroken to begin the day w/ news of yet another incident of senseless gun violence, this time injuring a 9th grader. Praying for a speedy recovery and hoping that others join me in standing up & speaking up about this ongoing issue that pains our community. #EnoughIsEnough
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@LAUSDSup) August 19, 2020
Many residents said they are desperately hoping for change. Days before the shooting, neighbors took cellphone video of another shooting that had occurred.
“These kids can’t walk outside their front door without peeping or being ready to run or drop down,” Bryant said. “Kids shouldn’t have to grow up like that.”
The victim’s mother said he’s doing better, but said the family is planning to move out of the neighborhood as soon as they can.
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