Sickening drive-by shootings in Miami-Dade are not inevitable. It’s our duty to stop them | Editorial

All hopes for a relatively quiet Memorial Day weekend in Greater Miami died in a barrage of bullets, starting late Friday night in the Wynwood area. Two people were killed and six others wounded.

Unfortunately, it was not a one-off. It continued at a banquet-hall concert early Sunday morning in Northwest Miami-Dade County. Two more people died, three others are critical and 17 were wounded. What a horrible scene.

Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez came to the scene to denounce the violence, which he described as targeted:

The suspects have been identified as three gunmen in ski masks and hoodies who ambushed a crowd leaving a rap album Sunday morning, unleashing a barrage of gunfire that left two dead at the scene. The shooters fled in a white Nissan Pathfinder.

“This is a despicable act of gun violence, a cowardly act,” Ramirez said.

Yes, it is. The violence is sickening. Because of the loss of life, first and foremost. Because of the inability to get a handle on gang and turf wars. Because every gun-control measure in the world likely won’t make a dent in criminals’ access to guns. Because of the loss of any sense of security.

We’re seeing a disturbing pattern here. Two shameless street mass shoot-outs within 36 hours starting Friday night, a Caribbean-theme party and a rap concert. Three dead; more than 25 injured. Unacceptable.

Another pandemic

Which begs the question: What’s going on in the streets of Miami-Dade as we exit the pandemic? We know there has been a spike in major crimes this year.

Recent gang turf battles and revenge shootings mostly have been conducted with drive-bys. This elevated rash of gun violence is not normal, even for us. Unfortunately, we are emerging from one pandemic and plunging into another. This feels too much like an episode of the Miami-filmed Netflix series, “StartUp,” but the blood spilled is not fake.

Miami and Miami-Dade police need to spell out for us just what we’re dealing with.

A week ago, Zedekiah Peacock, 20, a local rapper, was shot and killed in a drive-by at Northwest 61st Street and 31st Avenue. Two other bystanders were wounded.

Minutes after Peacock died, another man outside an apartment complex was sprayed by bullets in a drive-by in Opa-locka. A second person was wounded.

Several days ago, surveillance video obtained by the Miami Herald showed a dramatic car chase and shooting. At least one gunman hanging out the passenger side of a black car shooting at a white car near Casino Jai-Alai Miami. Three bystanders on the street were injured.

Two weeks ago, Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo held a news conference with Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

Acevedo announced a coalition to crack down on crime, launching an intense 90-day campaign, sparked by the lack of an arrest in the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old at a party in January. That, too, was a drive-by.

Commend Acevedo for publicly acknowledging something amiss with this rash of violence. It’s not random. It’s targeted at specific people who die in a hail of bullets in a public place, even though had crowd cover. Collateral victims? Shooters with high-powered weapons don’t care.

“The crooks are not sleeping. They are not observing holidays,” Acevedo said.

Memorial Day, included.

Reward offered

Acevedo was right to anticipate the holiday would be problematic and launch the multi-government agency task force, which also includes the feds. The chief wants some RICO statutes used against these freewheeling shooters.

But this is not just a law enforcement fight. It’s a moral, community and public-health crisis, meaning many more of us must play a role in eradicating such tragedies. The business community should also step up.

One member has a already stepped out big.

Marcus Lemonis, a millionaire businessman and host of “The Profit” on CNBC, attached to the Miami Herald and WPLG-Channel 10 “breaking news” tweets of Sunday morning’s shooting, his own announcement of a $100,000 reward “to help authorities in my hometown @MiamiDadePD arrest convict the suspect/suspects . . . pass this on.”

Lemonis’ tweet is going viral. We thank him for caring for Miami-Dade.

Now, witnesses to Sunday’s violence and others should come forward and take Lemonis up on his offer. However, witnesses must also be protected. They have every right to be frightened.

This weekend’s shootings are not just tragedies, they speak ill of this community presenting itself as world-class, eager to lure new, high-skilled professionals from Silicon Valley and other once go-go hotspots. Neither newcomers nor long-time Miami business leaders can ignore the 30 people touched up close by gun violence so far this weekend.

Because the shooters don’t care, the rest of us must.

This story was originally published May 30, 2021 at 9:58 AM.