Miami-Dade police

Community Holds Vigil for 2-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead in SW Miami-Dade

Carnell Williams Thomas was shot in the area of 214th Street and Southwest 114th Court Friday

A family and a community held a vigil on Wednesday for the 2-year-old boy shot dead in SW Miami-Dade as authorities intensify the manhunt for the gunman.

The boy's mother has been beleaguered by grief.

“She hasn’t been home since this happened; she can’t come in this neighborhood – she can’t handle it," Barbara Williams, the boy's grandmother, said of her daughter who is mourning. “He had just started calling me grandma ... I loved that child!"

Carnell Williams Thomas was shot in the area of 214th Street and Southwest 114th Court Friday. Police said he was with his mom when he was struck by a bullet in the courtyard of the Arthur Mays Villas.

The reward for information that will lead to an arrest in the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old boy in southwest Miami-Dade jumped to $30,000 on Tuesday as police continued their search for a suspect.

"I just heard 'boom, boom,' I came to the front and saw everybody screaming," witness Troy Neal said. "I was probably 100 yards off when I heard the shot. We didn't even know what it was, when we came around everyone was running saying a little kid got shot."

Over the weekend, Miami-Dade Police, public officials and members of the community came together to urge the public to turn in whoever is responsible.

"I saw the little boy’s scooter laying on the ground still and I said to myself once again, this has got to stop," Commissioner Dennis Moss said.

The person who pulled the trigger is still at large.

"Right now our main priority is to bring someone to justice. I can't even tell you if this was an intentional act or if it was accidental," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said.

The circumstances behind the shooting are murky. That's why a $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

"Right now we've got to bury a child," Perez said. "What was going through that mind when that bullet was whistling through the air?"

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

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