Richmond Heights On Edge After 3 Hurt In Drive-By Shooting
RICHMOND HEIGHTS (CBS4) - Three men are hospitalized after a terrifying drive-by shooting in which a home in this startled community was riddled with bullets.
Carmen Perry, whose 29-year-old son Devin was shot 6 times, says it's a miracle that none of the other children were injured. She told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that that were eight children inside the home on Fillmore Street when the shooting happened around 3:15 a.m.
Perry, her neighbors and local pastors call the shooting an "unusual" incident in a community that has seen some remarkable improvements in the past decade in the quality of life----with improvements in housing, landscaping, streets, street lighting and churches.
"I was asleep when my son was shot," Perry told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "It sounded like fireworks. Then my son came through the door and said Mom, I've been shot. So I drove all of them to the hospital."
After she took them to Jackson Memorial South Hospital on nearby S.W. 152nd St., her son and 35-year-old Clinton Hall were airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Perry said. Twenty-four-year-old Eddie Grant was being treated at Jackson South.
"I'm nervous," Perry told D'Oench. "Any mom would be nervous. I pray that everything will be OK."
Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta says three suspects in a black Chevrolet pickup truck drove by the home and fired at the three men who were sitting on the front porch. One of the shooters was using a high-powered rifle, said Zabaleta.
The shots were fired by the suspect in the bed of the pickup truck and a front-seat passenger. The suspect in the truck had the rifle.
"It's very fortunate that no one else was hurt," said Zabaleta. "These bullets penetrate walls. This could have been tragic."
Records show that Devin Perry has an extensive criminal history. Police could not say if he was the target of the shooting or if this was a random attack.
"My neighborhood is a nice neighborhood," said Perry. "This is a nice neighborhood. It is very shocking. I am surprised that this happened."
That was echoed by longtime residents and local pastors.
"This don't happen here," said Perry's next-door neighbor, a man who identified himself as Earl and told D'Oench that he had lived in Richmond Heights for 52 years.
"This is Richmond Heights," said Earl. "This is for kids. This is a great place to raise kids."
Another neighbor, Jeff Miley, said, "This was scary, real scary. This is a quiet neighborhood."
D'Oench also caught up with the Rev. Anthony Reed, the pastor for the past five year of the Martin Memorial AME Church.
"It's pretty unusual for this area," said Reed about the shooting. "This is not the norm, what happened in this manner. We have not seen this for quite awhile."
"It's good to have been part of this community for the past five years," said Reed. "I'm proud to be a part of this community and anything like this that happens is a great concern to all of us."
Meanwhile, Carmen Perry hope that the suspects will be caught.
"I want them to be caught and charged with attempted murder," she said. "There were other kids inside this home. They were put in jeopardy. I want them punished for this."
Zabaleta said there was no description of the suspects since this crime happened in darkness. He urges anyone with information to come forward.
If you know anything at all, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at 305 471-tips (8477).
