2-year-old boy dies after being shot by apparent stray bullet, police say
A 2-year-old boy was shot and killed Friday night in the courtyard of a Goulds apartment complex in what police say appears to have been a stray bullet.
Police say the shooting occurred at 6:19 p.m. outside an apartment near Southwest 214th Street and 114th Avenue in Goulds. The shooting was just blocks from U.S. 1 and Southland Mall in South Miami-Dade.
When the police arrived, they said they found the 2-year-old lying on the ground with a gunshot wound. He was airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where he later died, police say.
His mother was nearby when the officers arrived. Police said they don’t believe the child, whom they did not identify, was the target, but rather got caught in the crossfire of a stray bullet.
“Once again, we find ourselves mourning the death of a child,” said Sgt. Carlos Rosario of the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Police did not have any information about the shooter.
My heart aches as once again a small child has died as a result of a shooting. @MiamiDadePD Homicide will use all resources to apprehend, and help prosecute the responsible party. Justice will prevail. #enough
— Juan Perez (@JPerezMDPD) December 16, 2017
Tonight, a family was robbed of the chance to ever hold their baby again because of someone’s blatant disregard for human life. Any child falling victim to gun violence is a tragedy. But a toddler? When does it stop? Let’s keep this grieving family in our prayers.
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@MiamiSup) December 16, 2017
This is the second stray bullet that has claimed a life in less than a week. On Saturday night, 43-year-old Alicia Roundtree was driving home from a Miami Gardens Publix when she was hit by gunfire in what police are calling a random shooting. The shooter has yet to be identified.
In the last few years, a number of young children have been killed in Miami-Dade by stray bullets.
Last year, 6-year-old King Carter, a boy who loved football and Ninja Turtles, got caught in crossfire while playing in front of his Northwest Miami-Dade apartment. He had gone outside to buy candy.
Not long after, 8-year-old Jada Page was shot in the head in her front yard during a drive-by shooting after her first week of fourth grade. She and her dad were about to go to the movies.
In 2015, a duel between teenagers killed Marlon Eason, with gunfire hitting the 10-year-old as he retrieved a basketball in front of his Overtown home.
Over the past 11 years, more than 300 children and teens have been killed by guns in Miami-Dade County. Some deaths were the result of domestic arguments. Other children were caught in the crossfire of gun battles between teens or gangs. In rarer instances, children playing with a gun accidentally pulled the trigger.
This story was originally published December 15, 2017 at 8:03 PM with the headline "2-year-old boy dies after being shot by apparent stray bullet, police say."