Reward offered: Mom shot and killed in front of her kids while leaving Miami-Dade park
A mother leaving a Miami-Dade park with her six children on board was shot and killed in her vehicle following a dispute, according to police.
Jeretha Lawson, 33 was leaving Oak Grove Park, 690 NE 159th St., with her children around 3 p.m. May 23 when she was shot in front of her children following a dispute with another driver, detectives said in a news release. Someone in the other car shot at the mother, who then crashed into two parked vehicles while attempting to escape.
Despite first responders’ life-saving efforts, Lawson died, police said. It’s unclear what they were arguing about. The children, ages 7 to 17, weren’t injured by the gunfire or the crash, police said. They have since been with their father.
“Her six children were also inside the vehicle during the shooting but were not injured by the gunfire nor the crash,” police said. “The subject(s) fled in an unknown direction before officers arrived on scene.”
TV footage showed several police cars and at least three damaged vehicles behind yellow crime-scene tape.
Oak Grove Elementary School, which borders part of the park, was put on lockdown due to the police activity in the area, a Miami-Dade County Public Schools spokesman told the Miami Herald.
Public records from March show that Lawson was living a few minutes away from the park, which is just west of North Miami Beach, in unincorporated Miami-Dade.
On May 31, Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade and The Florida Keys offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the shooter.
“No child should ever have to witness their mother being killed due to senseless gun violence,” Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III said the night of the shooting on Twitter. “We must protect our community from having their lives impacted by these violent crimes.”
How to help
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade and The Florida Keys anonymously by dialing 305-471-8477 or visiting crimestoppersmiami.com.
Video from the shooting scene
Where the shooting happened
Miami Herald staff writers David Goodhue, Charles Rabin and Grethel Aguila contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 7:59 PM.
