MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are investigating video of a male subject firing a paintball gun at students walking home from school in Miami Shores.
An Instagram page by the name of blockboy_polo shared video of a driver pulling up to a group of children before opening fire with paintballs on Wednesday.
The group inside the car can be heard laughing as the terrified kids made a run for it along Northwest 115th Street and Fifth Avenue.
“I see like a barrel, I’m thinking they have a gun but it was a paintball gun,” said one of the victims. “They shot me twice, but they hit me on the side of my belt and it didn’t burst.”
The video has garnered a lot of attention online, including law enforcement.
“The video surfaced on Instagram a short time after the incident,” said Miami Shores Police Sgt. Paul Cazzola. “We know it’s the same individuals because in the background of the vehicle you can see the area of the school and the perimeter fence.”
It happened as students at Doctors Charter School were making their way home from after school activities.
The paintball drive-by comes on the heels of a similar incident in the City of Miami.
There were six different reports of people getting pelted by paintballs in June.
In those incidents, police were looking for a silver Mercedes-Benz and a white Nissan.
On blockboy_polo’s Instagram page, a group of men were seen posing in front of a white Mercedes-Benz and a silver Nissan.
Miami Shores Police is working to determine if the cases are connected.
“These kinds of acts are becoming more and more common,” Cazzola said. “We are actively investigating any kind of links between any of these incidents.”
Though nobody was seriously injured in either case, police believe this is no laughing matter.
“Young people may consider this a harmless act or a funny act, this is not and people can be seriously injured,” Cazzola said.
If you have any information on this paintball drive-by, 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.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.