Two arrested, three at large after Hollywood Broadwalk shooting that injured nine

Shira Moolten, Susannah Bryan, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Updated ·5 min read
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Two people were arrested, three are at large, and five handguns were recovered after the shooting that wounded nine people, including a 1-year-old child, on the busy Hollywood Broadwalk Monday evening, police said Tuesday.

Six of the injured remain in the hospital on Tuesday.

Hollywood police believe the shooting occurred after a dispute between two groups of people, said Deanna Bettineschi, a spokeswoman for the agency. So far, police have not shared details on what sparked the fight.

The Broadwalk, a popular beachside destination, was crowded with families and people enjoying the end of Memorial Day weekend when gunfire broke out just before 7 p.m. People began to run. Officers, paramedics and good Samaritans went to help those who were shot.

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Police detained two people after the shooting, but later determined they were not the shooters. Both were arrested on firearms charges. Of the five handguns recovered, two were stolen, Bettineschi said, one from Texas, the other from Miami-Dade.

Detectives are still trying to identify three other people they believe were involved in the shooting. Police released photographs of two of the people early Tuesday morning, then a third suspect about noon.

“We are asking the community, if you know who the three pictured may be, please contact police,” Bettineschi said.

The nine injured people include five adults, ranging in age from 25 to 65. The four wounded youth range in age from 1 to 17 years old, Bettineschi said. The injured were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Three have been treated and discharged. The other six remain in the hospital in stable condition.

Hollywood resident Cat Uden was out walking her dog Monday night when she heard what sounded like a dozen or more sirens.

When Uden saw news reports that there’d been a shooting on the increasingly crowded Broadwalk, she wasn’t surprised at all.

“I think a lot of parents are going to be afraid to bring their kids to the beach on weekends and holidays now,” Uden told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

She usually avoids the busy zone near Johnson Street on weekends and holidays anyway. But now that nine people have been shot, Uden says she has no plans to go back.

“I absolutely would avoid central beach,” Uden said. “I notice it is getting worse. We’ve had a lot of fights on the Broadwalk where all the bars are. Our beach is turning into Miami Beach. And we want to be the sleepy, quiet family beach. We don’t want to be Miami Beach.”

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Vacationers and locals returned to the largely empty beach Tuesday morning, some shaken up by the events of the evening before.

Joe Sainato, 26, was visiting Hollywood with his girlfriend from New Jersey when they heard the shots from their hotel room. They had walked past the scene of the shooting several times earlier that day.

“I asked my girlfriend, was that an engine or a gun?” he recalled Tuesday, standing on the beach a few feet from where the shooting took place.

Though Sainato had visited the area before, it was his girlfriend’s first time.

“She’s like, ‘I wanna go home,'” he said.

Some waiters and waitresses who work along the Broadwalk hid in bathrooms and texted friends and family about the active shooting on the beach, said Isabel Llopart, owner of the Surf Inn motel.

“I was not surprised,” Llopart said. “It was a matter of time. I have friends who work as waiters and waitresses on the beach and they’re afraid to walk three blocks to get home at night because it’s dangerous. Because of the type of people hanging out on the beach. It’s gangs.”

Bob Ferro, the owner of Nick’s Bar & Grill, left work early on Monday, hours before bullets started flying.

“They really need to police the area more,” Ferro said. “I was out to dinner with some friends from Chicago and I got a text from someone at Capone’s about all that was happening. Thank God no one died. Everything is on video. I’m pretty sure they’re going to find them.”

Howard Sirota lived in a home on Hollywood beach until moving to Hallandale Beach a couple years ago.

He last visited Hollywood beach about a year ago and says he has no plans to go back. The shootout is one reason and the looming lack of gun control is the other, he said.

“I don’t know what to say except it’s going to get worse in July when anybody 18 and over except a convicted felon can have a concealed handgun,” Sirota said. “I already think twice before heading to Hollywood beach because everyone and their mother has a gun.”

Sirota puts part of the blame on Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“The governor is busy with issues that don’t really matter,” Sirota said. “Nine people were shot last night and what he’s doing is pouring gasoline on the fire. Before, you had to make three out of five shots at point-blank range or you don’t get the gun license. So when everybody pulls out their gun next time, you’re going to have people who have no idea how to aim. It’s insanity.”

Debra Case, a former Hollywood commissioner, sold her Ocean Alley restaurant two years ago, but is still a member of the Hollywood Beach Business Association.

Case, for one, does not think the shooting will keep people away from Hollywood beach. But she does wonder if more shootings are on the way, everywhere.

“I bet if you go out to the beach today you’re going to find people out there,” she said. “I think it’s more of an isolated incident. The bigger problem is the bigger picture. We’re one of the states that doesn’t require so many gun rules. This is going to happen more often. That’s the bigger fear.”

Anyone with information should phone Hollywood police at 954-764-4357 or 954-967-4567. Tipsters also can email or text to hollywoodpdtips@hollywoodfl.org

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