Miami club shooting: 100 bullets unleashed on crowd standing outside birthday party concert
A victim's body is seen at the shooting scene at entrance of the Billiards banquet hall in Miami Gardens
(EPA)At least 100 bullet shells were recovered from a South Florida venue where party-goers came under attack from three assailants who opened fire on a crowd standing outside a birthday concert, the Miami-Dade police said.
At least two have died and 22 others are injured in the mass shooting incident on early Sunday at El Mula Banquet Hall near Hialeah while the shooters absconded from the crime scene.
Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez told ABC news that some of the party-goers returned fire after they found themselves under attack and 100 bullet shells were recovered from the scene.
The three shooters pulled up outside the club after midnight, stepping out of a white Nissan Pathfinder with high-powered rifles and handgun. They waited outside the party for 40 minutes before firing indiscriminately into the crowd just as they were about to leave, officer Ramirez said.
Police have launched a hunt for the shooters and urged public to help in finding the assailants.
"These are cold-blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice," officer Ramirez said in a tweet.
“We need our county to step up with information. If you know something, you can remain anonymous by calling @CrimeStopper305,” he added.
I am at the scene of another targeted and cowardly act of gun violence, where over 20 victims were shot and 2 have sadly died. These are cold blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice. My deepest condolences to the family of the victims.
— Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez III (@MDPD_Director) May 30, 2021
Lebanese-born American businessman and TV personality Marcus Lemonis has offered a $100,000 reward for any person providing information leading to the arrest of shooters.
“I’m offering a $100,000 reward to help authorities in my hometown @MiamiDadePD arrest and convict the suspect/suspects .. pass this on ..,” Mr Lemonis said.
Anguished by the incident, Angelica Green, whose only son and nephew were among those shot, said her son is “not a statistic” but a college graduate, reported CNN.
Her son was shot in the abdomen and is stable after surgery while her nephew was shot three times in leg and once in the abdomen.
"He's not a statistic. He's a graduate from college last year. So he's educated. He was going out with his educated cousin to just celebrate the weekend, and they had not made it into the club as of yet," she said.
"They said that some guys, three guys that they noticed... they just started shooting... for whatever reason, we don't know."
This is the second shooting incident in Miami since the start of Memorial Day weekend and 17th just in the month of May, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
One person was killed in the Friday incident and six others were injured after a gunman opened fire in a drive-by in Miami's Wynwood arts district.
Police said the reason of Sunday’s mass shooting is unknown but said it was “targeted” and “definitely not random."
