West Kendall man charged with apparent road-rage shooting that wounded 9-year-old girl

A Miami man surrendered Friday to face allegations he shot at a car in Southwest Miami-Dade last month, wounding a 9-year-old girl in an apparent case of road rage.

Jessy Betancourt, 24, was charged with attempted murder, shooting a deadly missile from a car and tampering with evidence. He’s being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

The shooting happened on Nov. 16, as a father and his daughter were driving in a 2011 Chrysler 300 on State Road 874 near Killian Parkway. A white Ford Mustang pulled alongside the car, firing one round into the driver’s side, before pulling around and firing three more into the passenger side.

The girl, while wounded, did not suffer life-threatening injuries and she was treated at Kendall Regional Trauma Center.

According to court documents, the Florida Highway Patrol investigators tracked down the car by finding an image of the Ford passing through a nearby toll around the time of the shooting. The license plate was tracked to the West Kendall home of Betancourt, who refused to speak without an attorney.

Earlier this month, accompanied by his attorney, he acknowledged that he fired his gun, hitting the car four times. Exactly what sparked the dispute remains unknown. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

As Betancourt surrendered Friday morning, a man who identified himself at his uncle told WSVN Channel 7 that he was “under the impression that the other car shot at him first.”

“He shot back in self-defense,” the uncle said.

Investigators, however, do not believe the father whose daughter was wounded attacked Betancourt’s car.

This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 12:24 PM.