Gunfire strikes two students in class at Miami Gardens charter. Three teens charged
Three teenagers face an array of charges after police say one of them sprayed gunfire at a charter high school in a Miami Gardens strip mall, apparently targeting a student inside.
The shooting on Wednesday left two students in class injured when police said bullets fired from a car in the parking lot penetrated a glass door and classroom wall before striking them. A third victim was hit in the parking lot outside the school, police said.
That gunfire led to a car chase and shootout with a Miami Gardens police officer in heavy traffic that miraculously caused no further injuries.
On Thursday, arrest reports named three teenagers as suspects: Nathaniel Christopher Spikes, 18; LDerrick RickyWillie Session, 18; and Karri Courtney Jackson, 17. All three were charged with attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
Spikes faces additional charges of fleeing and eluding police and interfering with an educational institution. Session was also charged with throwing or firing a deadly missile, discharging a firearm on school property and interfering with an educational institution. And Jackson, who police believe fired into the school, was also charged with throwing or firing a deadly missile and discharging a firearm on school property.
One suspect, according to arrest reports, said he didn’t know who fired at the students or the officer, but admitted “he had just had a physical altercation with the target victim before the shooting.”
Police said Spikes attends North Gardens High, Session goes to Miami International Academy and Jackson is a student at Stellar Leadership Academy. None of those charter schools are associated with Miami-Dade Public Schools.
A woman who said she was Spikes’ mother Thursday answered a phone at the family’s home. She said she had spoken with her son, but not the police. She did not want to give her name or discuss any details.
Miami Gardens Police, who were involved in the chase and who made the arrests, did not respond to questions from the Miami Herald Thursday.
All three victims, who were not named, are expected to recover. Two were transported to the hospital, one by air, the other by ambulance. The third victim was treated on the scene and released.
The shooting began at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday when a blue 2021 four-door Kia drove into the parking lot of North Gardens Senior High School, 4692 NW 183rd St. Someone from the backseat then fired into the classroom and the car sped off west on 183rd Street. A Miami Gardens off-duty officer who was working at the school gave chase.
At one point when the officer’s patrol car and the suspect vehicle were stuck in traffic, gunfire was exchanged. No one was injured from that gunfire. Other police joined the chase and two people in the car bailed at Top Golf at Northwest 173rd and Seventh Avenue.
They were captured shortly after. One of them had a Glock handgun, according to police. Police found an empty extended Glock magazine and a multi-caliber rifle inside the Kia, according to the arrest reports. Spent .223-caliber rifle casings were recovered near the school. Police said they determined the shots fired into the school came from the rear driver’s side window from video surveillance near the school.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 6:45 PM.
