3 dead, 5 injured in shooting at Miami-area graduation party

Three people were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting at a graduation party in the Miami area, The Associated Press reported Sunday.

Miami-Dade police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez told reporters that the shooting happened at 2 a.m., toward the end of a graduation party at a suburban strip mall. A group of vehicles pulled up to the party and opened fire on the gathering, he said. 

The vehicles then fled, and one of them crashed into a nearby wall, authorities said. Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue responded to the crash. Two occupants in the vehicle were reported dead, police told the AP.

Authorities said that they found a gun with one of the deceased occupants in the crashed car.  

Several victims drove themselves to a nearby hospital for treatment. Twenty-year-old Tyleisha Taylor, a state corrections officer, was identified as one of the casualties. 

“We are devastated to learn a member of our FDC family, Officer Taylor, was killed in a fatal shooting. Our prayers are with her family as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” Florida Secretary of Corrections Mark Inch said in a statement in the AP report.  

None of the other people who were killed or wounded have been identified.

This weekend’s shooting follows another last week in which three people were killed and 20 were wounded at a local event during Memorial Day weekend.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava expressed her condolences, adding that she partnered with Miami-Dade police in launching an initiative to combat the ongoing problem of violent crime. 

That’s why we launched Operation Summer Heat, a proactive enforcement strategy to target violent offenders with zero tolerance. We are stepping up other enforcement tactics countywide, increasing surveillance in hot-spot areas and cracking down on businesses operating illegally.

— Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) June 6, 2021