Miami

4 suspects in 2021 mass shooting outside a Miami-area concert are charged with murder




CNN
 — 

Four men were arrested and charged with murder Thursday in connection to a 2021 mass shooting outside a Miami-Dade County concert venue that killed three people and wounded at least 20 others – one of the largest mass shootings in the county’s history.

The suspected gunmen – Willie Zavon Hill, 27; Allen Gregory Chambers Jr., 30; Eugene Anthony Holmes, 22; and Jacarree Brian Green, 30, – each face three counts of first-degree murder, 20 counts of attempted murder and a single count of conspiracy to commit murder, according to an affidavit.

Hill also was charged with evidence tampering. Investigators said he disposed of a vehicle used in the crime by dumping it in a canal, according to the affidavit.

“Miami-Dade was shocked, indeed everyone in South Florida was shocked, when 23 individuals were shot during the Memorial Day Weekend on May 30, 2021,” said Miami-Dade County state attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle at a Thursday press conference.

The shooting outside the El Mula Banquet Hall near Hialeah stemmed from an ongoing rivalry between two gangs identified as the “Bricks” and “Back Blues/Apes” in Miami-Dade County, according to the affidavit.

On the night of the shooting, the banquet hall was being rented out by a music group that featured several rappers affiliated with the “Back Blues” gang, the affidavit states. Shortly after midnight, a group of hooded men pulled up to the venue in an SUV and fired indiscriminately into a crowd standing outside, authorities said.

Several people in the parking lot returned fire, leaving behind a crime scene littered with shell casings.

Less than a month after the shooting, Chambers posted a music video on YouTube titled “Mr. Pull Up” where he seemingly rapped about shooting and killing the “Apes.” The video also showed multiple suspects in the shooting, including Hill, the affidavit said.

“We as a law enforcement community vow that this investigation will continue until everyone who can be charged, is charged and held accountable for this horrific incident,” Rundle said.

Hill is being held on a $10,000 bond on the evidence tampering charge but none of the men are eligible for bond on their murder charges.

CNN has been unable to identify attorneys for the suspects.

Two other men have previously been charged in connection to the shooting, though charges in one of the cases have been dropped.

Last September, Davonte Barnes was convicted of three counts of second-degree murder and 20 counts of attempted second-degree murder, according to the Associated Press. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2021, authorities also arrested Warneric Buckner in connection with the shooting but prosecutors later dropped the charges after determining detectives made a mistake while interrogating him and after Buckner invoked his right to counsel, according to the Associated Press.



Source link