A family is in shock after a man was critically injured in a shooting that also killed two employees at a Miami gas station over the weekend.
Keith Shorter said his cousin Elijah Shorter is charismatic, funny and a good guy.
Shorter was inside the Chevron gas station on Northwest 54th Street and 17th Avenue Saturday when detectives said Jason Dyer-Mitchell shot and killed employees Shahbaz Hussain and Shamun Shaukat, and then shot Shorter before running out of the store.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video. Shorter was able to crawl out the front door.
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SWAT officers found Dyer-Mitchell inside his apartment across the street.
“It's just one of those things, like, you want to know why,” Keith Shorter said. “We definitely can't explain why the guy did what he did but on our end, it's still just a shock.”
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Shorter, who lives in Georgia, is still trying to process the news. However, he said there were positive signs Wednesday.
“I spoke with my aunt today, he did open his eyes today, so he's still holding on,” Shorter said. “He's not going to hurt a fly man, he's one of those people who will try to help anybody.”
According to the police report, the surveillance video and distinctive clothing the suspect was wearing helped lead detectives to Dyer-Mitchell.
In court Monday, a judge ordered Dyer-Mitchell to stay behind bars without bond.
