2 fatally shot, 12 hurt outside Miami funeral home
Apr 1, 2012, 12:32 AM
MIAMI (AP) – Two people were fatally shot and 12 others were injured when gunmen opened fire on mourners outside a Miami funeral home, leaving a scene that one witness described as “a war zone,” authorities said Saturday.
It happened at about 9:35 p.m. Friday as services were taking place at the Funeraria Latina Emanuel, about 10 miles north of the city’s downtown, the Miami-Dade Police Department said.
Jacques Leonet, a photographer for the funeral home, said a wake for 21-year-old Marvin Andre was just finishing and people had begun walking outside. A crowd of mostly young adults had gathered in front of the funeral home when a car drove by and opened fire.
People screamed and took cover. Several were left bleeding on the ground. Others ran back into the church, Leonet said.
“It was like a war zone,” Leonet said.
When officers arrived at the scene, one man was dead and 13 others were injured. A second man died after being taken to the hospital. Police said the injured include a 5-year-old girl.
“I grabbed her so we could go and she was screaming,” Someta Etienne, the girl’s mother, told WSVN-TV.
Etienne thought her daughter was just scared, but then saw blood coming from the girl’s pants and realized she’d been shot in the leg. The child was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, and authorities said Saturday she was in stable condition.
The names of the two deceased adults have not been released. Police said they are ages 27 and 43.
Leonet said Andre was a twin and a nursing student at Broward College. Miami-Dade Police were not able to provide any information on how he died.
Authorities declined to release further details about the shooting Saturday, and urged anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477.
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