More than eight years after a man was gunned down outside his home in southwest Miami-Dade, family members and police are still searching for his killer.
Nancy Torres brought her son Gabriel Hernandez to South Florida from Cuba in 1994, because she said she wanted to give him a better life.
"He was a great son," she said through tears Tuesday. "He made me laugh, he made me cry."
They lived together with her mother and younger son near Southwest 258th Street and 128th Avenue.
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Torres said her son was studying to be an airline mechanic, and dreamed of being a pilot.
But just eight days after Hernandez’s 21st birthday, he was shot to death outside their home. Torres remembered kissing both her sons goodnight and going to bed, before hearing gunshots the night of Nov. 4, 2013.
Miami-Dade Police Det. Joshua Wendling said Hernandez had received a phone call late that night.
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"While he was still on the phone, he went outside his residence and moments later gunshots were heard by his family here," Wendling said.
Torres and her mother rushed outside to Hernandez.
"I saw my son laying on the floor, with my mom, and I remember I didn’t want him to close his eyes," Torres said.
Torres called 911, but it was too late. Hernandez never made it to the hospital.
Detectives said Hernandez was shot multiple times, and officers did not find any surveillance video in his neighborhood. They wouldn’t comment on whether officers found a gun.
The reward for anonymous information leading to an arrest is now up to $15,000.
Torres pleaded for anyone who may have seen something to contact officers and "let police know what you know."
Anyone with information can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
