2 charged in Miami Beach shooting, DaBaby detained, released

MIAMI (AP) — Grammy-nominated rapper DaBaby was detained for questioning in a shooting that wounded two people in Miami and later released, officials said Tuesday. Police said two suspects are now charged in the case.

Jonathan Kirk, DaBaby’s legal name, was one of many people being questioned by officials on Tuesday, Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said in a news release. Rodriguez had said earlier that “several possible suspects” were detained. He later noted that Kirk had been let go.

According to arrest reports, Wisdom Awute, 21, and Christopher Urena, 29, both face charges of attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault. Urena also faces charges of grand theft and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

The shooting wrapped up a violent Memorial Day weekend in the Miami area.

Police received multiple 911 calls reporting the shooting just after 11:30 p.m. Monday. Officers found one person struck in the shoulder and another in the leg. Both were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Police have not released the identities of those wounded. One was treated at a hospital and released, while the second remains in the hospital in critical condition.

The shooting took place on Ocean Drive, a popular strip of restaurants and hotels in South Beach. During the investigation, the heavily traveled MacArthur Causeway nearby was shut down in both directions.

DaBaby, 29, was arrested earlier this year in Los Angeles. Beverly Hills police said he took a loaded gun into an upscale store on Rodeo Drive.

The North Carolina rapper’s song “Rockstar” was one of the biggest hits of 2020, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for record of the year. No one responded immediately to an email sent to DaBaby’s representatives seeking comment. A man who answered the phone at the label company representing him said, “No comment.”

In other violence over the weekend, a mass shooting outside a banquet hall early Sunday left two dead and 21 wounded, including three who were hospitalized in critical condition. Police did not release the victims’ names, citing privacy laws.

A manhunt continued Tuesday for three masked suspects who opened fire outside El Mula Banquet Hall in northwest Miami-Dade County, near Hialeah. On Monday, police released a surveillance camera video that showed a white SUV driving into an alley at a strip mall housing the hall. The SUV was found Monday submerged in a canal about 8 miles (13 kilometers) east of the shooting scene. Police said it had been reported stolen two weeks ago.

The video shows three people getting out of the vehicle, one gripping a handgun while the other two brandish what police described as “assault-style rifles.” Authorities said the suspects began spraying bullets indiscriminately into the crowd, but had specific targets in mind.

Officials also are still investigating a drive-by shooting Friday night that killed a person and injured six others outside a venue in the the Wynwood area. Some witnesses likened the scene to a “war zone” after a barrage of dozens of bullets sent people scurrying for cover.

There is no indication the shootings were related to each other.

“This is a weekend when we should be out remembering, enjoying time with loved ones, and instead we’re here mourning,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a Monday news conference. ____

Associated Press journalist Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.

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