Miami Beach Police are searching for a suspect who gunned down a 16-year-old boy late Thursday in an attempted robbery.
Officers were called to the boardwalk near 79th Street shortly before midnight, Miami Beach Police spokeswoman Vivian Hernandez said.
Hernandez said the incident began as an armed robbery but ended with the shooting of 16-year-old Robert Lakatos, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Hours after the shooting, the teen's family made a tearful plea to ask for the public's help in finding his killer.
"I lost my son, he was a perfect boy," father Robert Lakatos said. "Anyone who loves my son, come and tell us what you know."
Lakatos was one of eight children, his family said. He wanted to be a model and had just moved here from Virginia.
Grandmother Elizabeth Banyiae noted that today is "Good Friday. I can't believe it. I ask the people who watch this bad news, please put us in your prayers."
She said Lakatos is in heaven now, but in her heart he will live "forever like a rose."
Helicopters and K-9 units were dispatched early Friday morning to search for the suspect, who wasn't found.
Authorities said the gunman is likely a Hispanic male, age 17-20 years old, around 6 feet tall and weighing 170 to 180 pounds. He has short blond hair and was wearing black work pants and no shirt.
The suspect had a tattoo of a marijuana leaf on his left chest area and may have fled wearing a black book bag, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
