7-year-old killed, toddler and two others wounded after drive-by shooting in Miami area
The 7-year-old girl wounded in a drive-by shooting on Saturday night in Northwest Miami-Dade was taken off life support Monday, the Miami Herald has learned.
The girl was shot along with two adults and a 16-month-old boy, who was struck in the thigh and is in stable condition at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Because of the girl’s grave condition, Miami-Dade homicide detectives are now handling the case and looking for the shooter or shooters.
Police named the 7-year-old child as Alana Washington Monday morning while she was still in critical condition. A group advocating for mother’s of murdered children said they planned to gather at 2:30 p.m. at the street corner where the shooting took place to urge the community to “speak up” about the incident.
The ambush happened in the 2900 block of Northwest 51st Street, in the Brownsville area, just past 8 p.m. Saturday.
A car had just parked in front of the house, and people were getting out when another car drove past. Someone in the passing car opened fire. Over a dozen rounds were fired, sources say. One man in the house returned fire.
A 23-year-old woman was shot in the torso and is in stable condition after surgery at Ryder Trauma. A 19-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and neck. He, too, is in stable condition.
It was unclear Sunday who was the intended target of the shooting. The violence quickly sparked outrage among community leaders.
Just after 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo Ramirez tweeted about the shooting.
“This type of indiscriminate violence is unconscionable and we as a community cannot become callous to it,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez also said in his tweet that Miami-Dade police contributed $5,000 to a reward on information that leads to an arrest or filing of criminal charges. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stopppers at 305-471-8477.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, on Sunday, said that her office is adding an additional $5,000 to the reward fund to help catch the killer.
“It’s just a real sad day for Miami-Dade County,” said Edmonson, whose district includes the neighborhood where the shooting happened. “We’re already dealing with the coronavirus, and now we also have to cope with useless shootings, especially when children are involved.”
“We are hurt so bad, you know. We are just so hurt,” Cynthia Banks, a family member of those wounded, told Miami Herald news partner CBS4. “We would have never imagined that it would happen like this here. I just want everyone to just pray for my family.”
Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho also tweeted about the shooting.
“Heartbroken to learn that yet again, a precious child was shot during a drive-by incident tonight,” Carvalho said. “I am with pleading with the community...if you saw something, PLEASE say something. We must not remain silent when the lives of our children are at stake.”
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, in a statement issued on Sunday, said prosecutors responded to the shooting scene, are working with detectives and “need our community’s help to bring the shooters in.”
“The million eyes of our community’s residents may have seen something that could provide an essential identifying clue. Please come forward and say something,” Fernandez Rundle said. “You may become an important lifesaver with just a few words.”
This story was originally published July 25, 2020 at 11:13 PM.
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