Shooting at Graduation Party Leaves 3 Dead
- By Matt Jones
- June 07, 2021
A shooting at a graduation party in Kendall, Fla., on Sunday saw three people killed and five more injured, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The department’s director, Freddy Ramirez, said the party at a local strip mall was cut short when two vehicles pulled into the parking lot and opened fire. The vehicles have been identified as a dark-colored Chevy Malibu and a white Toyota Camry.
Of the three who were killed, two were in a vehicle that crashed into a wall on the nearby Miami-Dade County College Kendall Campus, and one was a Florida Corrections Officer, said Ramirez. He also said that the five people who were injured transported themselves to local hospitals and are in stable condition.
“I can’t imagine the horror for these families when a celebration of their young graduates is marred by such unspeakable violence,” said County Commissioner Raquel Regalado in a statement. “This incident is proof that gun violence knows no boundaries in our Miami-Dade community.”
NBC Miami reports that the strip mall in question contains a restaurant, two businesses, and a hookah lounge.
The only victim identified so far is Florida Correctional Officer Tyleisha Taylor, who started work with the Dade Correctional Institution in Jan. 2020. “Our condolences go to her and her family, and to the victims here on the scene,” said Ramirez. “It just goes to show you the magnitude of this gun violence issue doesn’t just affect community members; it affects the law enforcement community. We all have to band together.”
The incident comes on the heels of another mass shooting in Miami that killed three people and injured 20.