Police probe Miami nightclub shooting where teens, children wounded

By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - Law enforcement and community leaders on Monday struggled to understand how minors, including preteens, were among the 15 shot and wounded early Sunday morning at what police said might have been an unsanctioned nightclub. “Beyond the horrific headline, can anyone tell me what in the world were teens, as young as 11, doing in a club,” Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho tweeted. Police and fire rescue officers responded to a shooting at The Spot, in the crime-ridden Liberty City neighborhood, after 1 a.m. on Sunday and described a chaotic scene where more than a dozen people aged 11 to 25 were wounded. Emergency services transported seven people with gunshot wounds to hospitals, including five females aged 11 to 17, according to Fire Rescue officials. By Monday most of the victims had checked out except for a male in critical condition believed to be 15 years old, according to Miami police spokeswoman Frederica Burden. Police investigators were still trying to determine who was inside the club, who was shooting and why. Still unanswered is whether the business was actually a nightclub, and if it had a liquor license or any kind of special event permit. "I was told they had a liquor license, but they shouldn’t because it’s in the vicinity of a school," Burden said. Phone numbers for the business weren’t in service on Monday and it wasn’t clear whether detectives had successfully contacted the owners. (Editing by David Adams and Eric Walsh)