‘Gang nexus’ prompts shooting in Miami Gardens

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Chief Delma K. Noel-Pratt said on Friday a “gang nexus” caused the shooting that woke up residents on Wednesday in Miami Gardens.

Surveillance video shows the flashes of light from the propellant gases that exited the firearms near Northwest 196 Street and 42 Avenue.

“There were flashes all over the place,” Luis Rivera said. “I could see it through the curtains.”

The area is home to Miami Gardens Elementary School and the Tender Loving Care Preschool. Bullets damaged cars and houses. Rivera lives with a 6-year-old girl who is undergoing cancer treatment.

After the shooting, the driver of a Nissan crashed into a fence and intruders ran. Rivera said he feared they were going to break into his home and hurt his family.

In April, a shooting injured two teenagers and three adults near Northwest 197 Street and 14 Avenue after a fight at Miami Norland Senior High School.

The Miami Gardens Police Department’s street intelligence unit has been working with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office’s Gang Strike Force.

Detectives asked anyone with information to call police at 305-474-6473 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.