Family Asks For Public's Help Finding Shooter Of Teenager
NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) - A Northwest Miami-Dade man is pleading for the public's help after his home was riddled with bullets and his 15-year-old stepdaughter was struck multiple times.
"If somebody knows something, I would really love for them to come forward and say something," said David Plunkett, whose stepdaughter Emreon Branford was wounded in during the weekend shooting.
"I need you and people in the public to talk to the police," said Plunkett. "You don't have to give up your own personal information."
Plunkett told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that he was stumped by the shooting that happened around 5 a.m. at his home on Saturday in the 24-hundred block of Northwest 55th Terrace.
He told CBS4 that Miami-Dade Police told him around 15 bullets were fired at the home.
"You see the holes, the bullets came in right here. They came in this room," Plunkett said on Saturday. "This one hit the couch, right here."
Emreon's five-year-old sister Kiara, who was sleeping in the same bed with her, and her 9-year-old brother Joseph, who was sleeping in a bed nearby, were not wounded.
"It's really a miracle," said Plunkett. "It's just God watching over us."
Plunkett told CBS4 that he is stumped by the shooting.
"I have no clue," he said. "I can't tell you who might have done this. I have no idea. I'm trying to figure out, was it random? Is it a gang thing? I'm trying to think of every little thing."
When the shooting happened, Plunkett ran outside but the gunman was gone.
"We heard shots and we jumped," said Plunkett.
While Plunkett is Emreon's stepfather, he said he has helped raise her since she was five-years-old. He said she may need surgery on her jaw as a result of the shooting.
While Emreon is sedated and her condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital has stabilized, Plunkett said it is too painful for his stepdaughter to speak or grant interviews right now. He and his wife have been at her bedside at the hospital.
It's not known if Miami-Dade Police have any leads or suspects or have a motive in this shooting.
If you can help Police, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
Plunkett said he is trying to find a new place to live because he does not want to take his family back to the bullet-riddled home.
"It's just not safe to do that right now," he said. "We have to live somewhere else."
CBS4's Neighbors for Neighbors is trying to find Emreon's family a place to live.
If you know of anyone who can help or who may have lodging for them, contact Neighbors for Neighbors at (305) 597-4404.
You can also send an e-mail message to administrator@neighborsforneighbors.org.
