Police are on the hunt for a killer after a mother and her young son were shot to death inside their home in Miami early Tuesday.
The shooting happened around 1 a.m. on the 600 block of Northwest 73rd Street.
Relatives say Ciara Lee, a Miami-Dade corrections officer, and her 2-year-old son Devin were gunned down inside the bullet-riddled home.
After hours of investigation, police believe the two victims weren't the targets of the shooting, but instead were hit with stray bullets from a drug deal or gang activity that possible had gone bad outside the home.
Witnesses told police that there was some arguing going on outside the house and that's when the gunfire rang out.
Lee's uncle, Tony Lee, was also in the home and was shot in the leg and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito was at the scene early Tuesday,
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"When we responded to the scene, we found a female that had been shot inside the house, there were multiple gunshots to the house, we also found the two-year-old that was also deceased inside," said Exposito. "Right now we're investigating the incident and we're interviewing about six witnesses that we've been able to come up with."
Family members at the scene, including Ciara Lee's mother, Teresa, were overcome with emotion.
"Make them suffer, they've got to suffer," said Teresa Lee. "They didn't have to kill my daughter, my baby, they didn't have to do that."
The Department of Corrections described Lee as a "positive" employee who was always smiling.
"Friends of Ciara Lee describe her as a dedicated correctional officer. She is remembered by co-workers as having brought a bright positive nature to a difficult and dangerous job," a statement read. "Those who knew her describe her wonderful warm smile and say that her radiant spirit always seemed to light up the room.
Commissioner Richard Dunn also was at the scene of the gruesome crime, where he promised the gunman or gunmen would be caught.
"It's despicable, it's disgusting, it's horrific, it's terrible and I hope that these individuals that did this will be brought to justice," said Dunn.
