Mom accidentally shoots teen daughter during a dispute at a Miami McDonald’s, police say

A mother accidentally shot her teenage daughter at a McDonald’s Friday night in Miami over a misunderstanding involving a Lyft that had arrived for other customers, police say.

At about 10:10 p.m., Miami-Dade Police officers arrived at the fast food restaurant on 9250 NW 7th Ave after reports of a dispute and shooting.

Police say 32-year-old Melissa Valbrum accidentally shot her 15-year-old daughter in the shoulder. The teen was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.

Valbrum now faces multiple charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and culpable negligence causing personal injury.

The incident began as a misunderstanding between Valbrum and several people when a woman pointed to her cousins inside the McDonald’s to tell them their Lyft driver was there to pick them up, according to police.

But police say Valbrum thought the woman was pointing toward her and became agitated, confronting the group as to why she was pointed at.

The three cousins then got into the Lyft when Valbrum pulled out a gun, threatening to shoot and kill them, police say.

The Lyft driver told police she was she was being extremely aggressive toward him and his passengers. One of the cousins, who is a young girl, told police that Valbrum reached inside the car to assault her, according to the arrest report.

The cousins told police that the Lyft driver drove off and they heard a gunshot and saw that Valbrum’s daughter had been shot.

Valbrum told police that she had the gun in her waistband and it accidentally fell out, causing the gun to go off and hit her daughter.

Security and phone video recordings show Valbrum with the gun in her hand while knocking on the window of the Lyft.

Valbrum was taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center where she remains as of Saturday afternoon on a $7,000 bond.

This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 10:05 AM.