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NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman who was shot multiple times in a mass shooting in Northwest Miami-Dade said she was waiting to get into a concert when bullets began to fly outside of a banquet hall.
Ka’Dedra Thomas, 26, said she is in pain, emotional and trying to understand how such criminals can fire into a crowd of people without regard for her life or anyone else’s.
“It really felt like I was in a movie, and seeing people dropping like that? It was females, people like me who had nothing to do with it,” Thomas said. “You’re going to shoot into a whole crowd of people? That’s wicked!”
Surveillance footage posted to social media page Only In Dade captured people scrambling for their lives as three men fired bullets at them. Cellphone video from inside of the banquet hall captured the wounded waiting for help to arrive while others assessed the carnage.
Video also captured a white SUV passing the crowd as it pulled into a nearby alley. Three men armed with guns then could be seen rounding the corner and begin shooting. Miami-Dade Police have called the shooting an act of retaliation.
Clayton Dillard and Desmond Owens, both 26, died from their injuries. The wounded range in age from 17 to 32 years old.
Thomas was shot three times in the back and said she tried to stay calm until first responders arrived. She added she feels thankful to be alive and was released from the hospital on Monday.
“I just kept praying, and I just kept thinking about my family,” Thomas said. “Anybody that knows me, I always tell them that I’m God’s favorite. Trust me, Miss, I know I’m blessed.”
As Thomas continues to recover from her injuries, she said she struggles to make sense of how men she never met were willing to sacrifice her life to settle a score.
“And you know what’s so crazy? Because I want to be mad at them, right? I honestly pray for them people,” Thomas said. “For you to sit there and shoot up a whole crowd like that, you are lost. Your soul, you is lost. You need God more than I do. They’re going to have to get on their knees. They are going to have to pray. They are going to have to repent for that. You don’t do that to folks. You don’t do that.”
Police are searching for the three killers responsible for the mass shooting. There is a reward up to $130,000 for information that leads to their arrest.
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 the reward.
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