‘It’s the worst thing a mother can go through’: Family wants I-95 shooting solved
Melissa Gonzalez, a young college graduate who had dreams of becoming a lawyer, was shot dead last January while driving on Interstate 95, and her grieving family is on a quest for justice.
Gonzalez’s mother was flanked by Miami-Dade police officers at a news conference Thursday to announce a $7,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of her daughter’s killer.
“If you have any information, please help me to resolve this case which is obviously the most difficult case of my life,” said a tearful Sheilla Nunez, through a Spanish interpreter. “It’s the worst thing a mother can go through.”
“I have been suffering,” she said, while clutching her younger daughter. “My life is almost over.”
Gonzalez, 22, was shot dead the evening of Jan 3, 2020, as she drove south on I-95, near the Northwest 79th Street exit. The gunfire erupted at about 8:30 p.m., and a split second before the bullet struck Gonzalez it narrowly missed hitting her boyfriend, Julian Veliz Cortina, who was in the passenger seat.
“She was driving and I had to take the wheel,” Cortina said. “It was so difficult. It was terrible. It was just a few seconds but, for me, it felt like years.”
Police also released surveillance video from a parking lot near the scene that shows a person getting in the rear passenger-side door of a dark car. The vehicle sped west across Northwest Seventh Avenue shortly after the shooting, police said.
Investigators want to identify that individual and find out why they were in such a rush to leave the area.
“Our hope is that somebody seeing that [video] will be able to call us with [a tip], Detective Juan Segovia said.
Investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the person, the car, or has other information to contact Detective Segovia at 305-471-2400.
Anonymous tips can be given to Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-847 or 866-471-8477, or online at CrimeStoppers305.com, facebook.com/crimestoppers305, or visit the app store, get P3 and sign in to Miami for tips.
Wayne K. Roustan can be reached at wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 561-379-6119 or on Twitter @WayneRoustan
