In Wynwood, mass shooting raises business concerns about security, unregulated events
When a burst of gunfire erupted on the street just outside a rented party space where hundreds of people had gathered last Friday, police on bike patrols in Miami’s trendy Wynwood district were there within 35 seconds. So fast, some reported hearing gunfire and the bullets ricocheting off walls.
But even that strikingly rapid response wasn’t fast enough to stop the bloodbath or corral the shooters.
Quinton Valbrun, 25, was killed and six others were injured by the gunfire that came from several different semi-automatic weapons, police said.
Now, almost a week after the mass shooting, there’s been no information released about possible suspects and some nearby business owners are questioning the safety of leasing out property to unregulated one-time events that they say all too often have inadequate security. They also say those gatherings too often skirt the city’s alcohol laws by offering unlimited free booze for the cost of admittance.
Albert Garcia chairs Wynwood’s Business Improvement District. He called the proliferation of unregulated rent-for-a-night events that have popped up since crowds returned with the waning of COVID, “concerning.”
“The last week should be a wake-up call for property owners,” said Garcia. “Because if something on their property is mismanaged, it can unravel a lot of the hard work and progress and good will that has been built up.”
Philippe Kalifa, owner of El Patio bar and club in Wynwood, said he’s fine with the deployment of police in the heart of Wynwood. It’s the outskirts that don’t seem to have enough resources and are more problematic, he said.
“In talking with our off-duty officers. We’ve heard they need more funding to put more patrols in (parts of) Wynwood,” Kalifa said. “On the front end, in the main areas, they’re taking care of it. But on the back end, they should have more patrols. They need more police.”
Thursday morning more than a dozen local business owners gathered in Wynwood at MAPS Backlot, a Wynwood production house, for the monthly BID meeting to question the neighborhood’s commanding police officer and learn what they could about last Friday’s shooting.
Miami-Dade County property records show the property that hosted the party prior to the shooting is owned by businessman Bernard Herskowitz of Coral Gables. State records indicate that a group called 3E Six LLC, also known as Miami Supercars and registered to Mai Kathy Elo, does business as a car showroom on the lot. Neither Herskowitz or Elo returned calls or texts for comment.
Local business owners and police have said that Elo occasionally rents out the classic car space for parties advertised on the internet. The Miami Herald couldn’t find any records to verify the claim and it’s unknown what role if any Elo’s company played in the event.
Publicly, police have not admitted to making much headway in their investigation.
“We’re still going over video, talking to witnesses” and processing forensic evidence, said Assistant Miami Police Chief Armando Aguilar Jr. “But we’re not ready to make an arrest.”
But Miami police Cmdr. Dan Kerr told the Wynwood business owners that detectives withholding information likely indicates the investigation is further along than they’re willing to publicly admit.
“When detectives show pictures, they’ve typically exhausted all leads,” Kerr told the group of assembled business owners. “The fact that they haven’t done the media outreach, to me, is a positive thing.”
Nearby business owners say Elo has sub-leased the property for years for events like last Friday’s Caribbean-themed “pool party” and other gatherings unrelated to the classic car showroom. Police said the occupancy permit at the space allows for up to 450 people on the site. It wasn’t immediately clear how many visitors were at last Friday’s party or if code enforcement was looking into the issue.
Though several business owners expressed concern with unregulated events in private conversations, there was no mention of that during the group’s discussion with Kerr on Thursday.
The Friday night shooting in Miami happened just before midnight, about an hour after the party at 2022 NW First Court concluded, and while people continued to mill around the parking lot and Northwest First Court. The shooters fired off at least three dozen rounds and two types of shell casings were found at the scene.
Though police believe there was a target, the shooters appeared to fire indiscriminately into the crowd. At least one nearby business was damaged by the gunfire. An officer described the scene as a “war zone.” One witness claimed to see the gunfire coming from the back of a car that was billowing smoke from rifle muzzles.
This week the large ground parking lot at the corner of Northwest 20th Street and First Court, surrounded by a six-foot chain-link fence with barbed wire on top, was empty. The five garage bays behind it where classic cars usually sit, was closed. Next door, the Miami Rescue Mission, which feeds and clothes the needy, was doing business as usual.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo called gun violence “a public health epidemic our nation needs to address.”
Miami police have spoken with at least one of the victims.
Kenneth Laing, 40, who was struck in the head and eye by shrapnel said he felt like he was being unfairly interrogated during an interview with police earlier this week. That’s because, Laing said, after speaking with him and noticing that a car he owned was pockmarked with bullet holes, police had it towed.
Laing called it a misunderstanding. He said the car he drove to the party hall Friday night was already pockmarked with bullet holes when he bought it, not from the gunfire in Wynwood.
“I like that car,” he said. “They treated me more like a suspect than a victim. That pissed me off.”
Laing said he attended the event with more than a dozen friends who each chipped in for a section that cost about $3,500. There was free food and music and a lot of women in bikinis, he said. Laing also said most patrons were given water guns and other materials. It was an event, he said, that he had attended yearly before it was interrupted by the pandemic.
Friday’s shooting in Wynwood managed to stay off most people’s radar because of another similar mass shooting the next night that drew national headlines.
Shooters jumped out of an SUV in Northwest Miami-Dade and fired into a crowd that had just left a concert at rented out El Mula banquet hall. Using semi-automatic rifles, like the ones believed used in Miami, they fired off about 100 rounds in about six seconds. Two people were killed and 21 others injured by the gunfire. Police have not indicated any connection between the two events.
Kerr said this weekend in Wynwood was the busiest he has seen in the neighborhood, even compared to past Art Basel weekends or holidays, with clubs and restaurants so packed that crowds lined the streets for blocks. But, the commander said, he was hesitant to close off streets like Miami Avenue because they tend to become large gathering spots that are more difficult to police than the normal streets.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 5:01 PM.
