Miami

12 People Injured in Two Separate Miami-Dade County Shootings

8 people injured in shooting at Little River Park, police say

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Police are investigating two separate shootings in Miami-Dade County that left 12 people -- including a 16-year-old -- with injuries.

The first shooting occurred in Little River Park at 7:07 p.m. Sunday, Miami-Dade Police said.

Authorities said family members were enjoying a day at the park when two unidentified gunmen started shooting at them near a basketball court. Eight people were injured, six critically.

One victim -- a 16-year-old boy -- was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center. The other victims were between the ages of 17 and 27.

Just after police responded to the shooting in Little River Park, officers received a call about another shooting in Allapattah, authorities said.

Four people were left wounded in the Allapattah shooting, according to City of Miami police. The victims were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.

"This type of gun violence has to end," said Alfredo Ramirez, director of the Miami-Dade County Police Department. "We must work together as a community."

The shooting in Little River Park happened in the 10500 block of NW 25th Avenue, officials said. The Allapattah shooting occurred in the 3600 block of NW 25th Avenue.

Authorities said it is too early to tell whether both shootings are related.

“For me, is the nerve-ending issue that my son now doesn’t even feel safe at a public park,” said Keith Butler Senior, whose son was one of the eight people shot at Little River Park Sunday evening. “He sustained a bullet wound through the leg, had an entry point and exit.”

He told us his son is home from the hospital but says it’s the emotional recovery that lies ahead. 

“He's like, dad, I just went to the park to pick up my friend. I played earlier basketball and then all of a sudden out of nowhere, we can’t even go to the park anymore,” said Butler. 

For Butler, it’s a familiar pain he’s counseled as a community pastor, never thinking it would hit this close to home. 

“Never in a million years, never in a million years would I have thought it would be me,” said Butler. “I wanted to be a father, but then I get out there and it was hard for me to be a father and everyone coming to me looking for answers.”

Butler says he would like to see changes in schools and when it comes to protecting community places, like parks.

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