Miami-Dade Police were investigating after a body was found on a sidewalk early Thursday.
Leigh Wilcher, 19, was pronounced dead on the scene in northwest Miami-Dade at 22nd Avenue and 57th Street, police said.
Police got a call from a man who went to put out his trash at 5:30 a.m. He saw there was a man down on the sidewalk, who appeared to be sleeping.
Fire Rescue was called and they discovered the man had a gunshot wound and was dead.
Miami Police Looking Into Gunshot Detection Devices
Marsha Givens, who said she was Wilcher's mother, appealed for the public to tell authorities if they know anything about the shooting.
"If they saw anything, please, please say something," Givens said. "That's my son. He wasn't the best son, but he was my son and I love him. Please, somebody say something."
Benjamin Givens said his brother was innocent.
"All the killings just need to stop, all the violence, especially for the people that don’t even do nothing or bother nobody," he said.
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While Miami-Dade Police said they could not provide statistics Thursday on how many teenagers have been killed in the county during the past few months, anecdotally it seems like there's been an epidemic of teen violence – especially to the people in the neighborhood where Wilcher was found.
"And it's sad though that our young kids get killed, killing each other 'bout nothing, neighborhood gangs and all that, that’s getting worse, ain't gonna get no better no time soon," resident Mike Jones said.
