3 dead, at least 5 hurt when gunmen open fire on graduation party

By WFOR Staff

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — Three people are dead, including a state corrections officer, and at least another five are injured following a shooting that took place outside a Kendall business as a graduation party was ending.

According to Miami-Dade Police, the shooting took place in the parking lot of the College Park Plaza Shopping Plaza at SW 104 Street and 109 Court, where there was a party at a hookah lounge.

As people were leaving, “one or maybe two vehicles pulled up and began to fire at the crowd,” said Miami-Dade Police Director Freddie Ramirez.

The car then sped off and crashed into a wall at the nearby Miami Dade College Kendall campus. Both driver and passenger were killed. At least one firearm was found in the car. Police are also looking for a second car that may have been involved.

A third person died at Jackson Health Medical Center, after being taken there in a white car, which had a bullet hole in it, as seen outside the ER.

State corrections officials identified the officer who died as 20-year-old Tyleisha Taylor.

Florida Secretary of Corrections Mark Inch said in a statement that “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.”

Taylor had worked at Dade Correctional Institution since January 2020.

“It is with a heavy heart to say the victim, we are being told, is a Florida corrections officer. Our condolences go out to her and her family and to other victims here on the scene,” said Director Ramirez. “It just goes to show you the magnitude of this gun violence doesn’t just affect community members it affects the law enforcement community. We all have to ban together. This violence has to stop.”

His words were echoed by Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle, who pleaded on Twitter for people to step forward with information.

Ramirez expressed his frustration.

“Every weekend, it’s the same thing. We have to ban together. We did Operation Summer Heat, made a lot of arrests, seized a lot of firearms and here we are again. There’s a lot of work to do. We have to come together has a community and make this stop.”

Ramirez said the surviving victims of the shooting 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 Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who represents the Kendall district where the incident occurred just after 2 a.m. Sunday. “This incident is proof that gun violence knows no boundaries in our Miami-Dade community,” she wrote in a statement. ““We need to do more to keep our young people safe, including requiring events to hire off-duty police and expanding ShotSpotter to more areas, something I’m committed to,” said Commissioner Regalado.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she’s “horrified by this tragedy and heartbroken for the loved ones of those we lost. Protecting the safety and wellbeing of all Miami-Dade families and swiftly bringing those responsible to justice is our most urgent priority.”

Police ask anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Sunday morning’s shooting comes on the heels of a recent rash of shootings in Miami-Dade County.

Memorial Day Weekend was one of the most violent in recent history.

A mass shooting by three masked suspects outside a banquet hall in Northwest Miami-Dade left two dead and 21 wounded, including three who were hospitalized in critical condition. Now a second vehicle is believed to be involved.

A drive-by shooting on Friday, May 28 killed one person and injured six others outside a venue in the Wynwood area. Another shooting on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach left two people hurt. Two arrests have been made.

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