Toddler Elijah shot at birthday party is third Miami-Dade child killed by gunfire in 9 months

For the third time in nine months a young child in the northern end of Miami-Dade County was killed by gunfire that police believe was intended for another target.

This time a bullet took the life of Elijah LaFrance, a gregarious 3-year-old who enjoyed getting dressed up and posing for pictures with his younger sister. He was killed at a party celebrating his birthday Saturday night at a rented home in the county’s north end.

In January, Chassidy Saunders, 6, a child who was referred to by family and friends as the “Tik Tok Princess” for her joyous dancing videos, was one of three people hit by gunfire on a Saturday night outside a Model City home. Chassidy died. The two other victims survived.

And last July, during a gathering with friends outside a North Miami-Dade home, 7-year-old Alana Washington was fatally shot in the head during a drive-by shooting. A 1-year-old was also injured by the gunfire that witnesses say came from a car parked at the curb in front of the home. Doctors removed the tubes that were keeping Alana alive after two days.

The shooting death of Elijah, part of a countywide trend that has seen a rise in gun violence for the first time in decades, had family and local leaders reacting with anger and disgust, as they often do when a child is lost to gunfire. They also promised to use all available resources to capture the shooter.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tweeted that we must “stand together to demand an end to this cycle of tragedy.” Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez’s Twitter feed said his “heart hurts” and he promised to use every resource to “bring this murderer to justice.”

But it was Elijah’s uncle who captured the real heartbreak, his words almost unintelligible as he fought back tears.

“I was just playing with him,” Adrian Annestor told WTVJ Channel 6. “I wish it could have been me because I’ve lived long enough. He couldn’t even say ‘mom’ or ‘dad.’ ”

Miami rapper Zoey Dollaz also weighed in, posting pictures to his Twitter followers of Elijah posing in different dress with his sister. Dollaz, whose real name is Elvis Millord, said he cried when he learned of Elijah’s death. He also asked his more than 50,000 social media followers to pass along information on the shooter to Elijah’s family.

Millord posted four pictures of Elijah in different outfits posing with the younger little girl, on his Twitter page. Police have upped the reward for information leading to the shooter’s arrest, to $25,000 from $5,000.

Miami-Dade Police investigating the death of Elijah said they were alerted to the shooting at a “short-term rental” near the corner of North Miami Avenue and 158th Street at 8 p.m., when an electronic monitoring device picked up dozens of gunshots. Several bullet markings are clearly visible on the concrete fencing surrounding the home.

When police got to the home, officers grabbed Elijah and set him in a patrol car and raced him to the hospital. It was too late. The child was dead. Police said a 21-year-old woman was also shot and taken to Aventura Hospital. She is expected to survive.

A law enforcement source familiar with the shooting said as many as 70 rounds were fired and when police arrived they found Elijah’s dad holding him in the front yard of the home. Casings from three different types of guns were found at the scene. The source also said on Monday, two days after the shooting, that police haven’t received much information and few people have been willing to cooperate.

In January on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Chassidy, 6, also lost her life at a birthday party. A kindergarten student at Beacon College Prep Elementary in Opa-locka, she attended the school with her older sister who was in third grade.

Chassidy was shot outside a house on the 5500 block of Northwest Sixth Place. The shooter was believed to be in a black car that drove past the party and investigators believe the target was a man and girlfriend who were sitting in a blue Hyundai outside the home. Bullets wounded them both. More than a dozen bullets were fired.

Somebody who was at the party returned fire and Chassidy was caught in the crossfire as she was getting into the family’s car to leave.

Last summer, gunfire claimed the life of Alana, who was killed during a drive-by shooting in Brownsville. Two men were taken into custody not long after the shooting. Police said both confessed to their roles in Alana’s death.