Pee Wee Football Team Back On The Field After Shooting
MIAMI (CBS4) - Several months after a shooting at a Northwest Miami-Dade Park the children who were caught in a crossfire of the drive by shooting are back on the field.
The North Side Optimist Club Football Program and its teams played their first home game at the West Little River Park on Friday night.
On July 26, four kids were shot while practicing at the park. Police say two gunman with an AK-47 and a high caliber handgun opened fire.
Tyrek Collins was one of the kids who was shot, a bullet lodged in his calf. He has since recovered and is back playing football. He says he's not afraid.
"I don't really think about nothing else happening," Collins said.
Terry Joseph, President of North Side Optimist Club Football Program, said the club has been in the community for 43 years. It's part of the neighborhood and they've done everything in
their power to secure the park and the neighborhood.
"You look and you see the kids who got shot. They're right back out here and the coaches we do it for them they are our strength," said Joseph.
Weeks after the shooting the Optimist Club members and parents met with the Miami-Dade Police Department and commissioners to draw a plan to step us safety.
Miami-Dade Police said they've stepped up crime prevention efforts in the area and the community said they have been playing a big role in keeping the area safe.
Athletic Director Vincent Ware said this program and the neighborhood will not give up because the children use this program to stay out of trouble.
"Kids use football to keep them focused in school and in the classroom this is really a learning experience we try to implement life experiences these kids would need to be
better people," Ware said.
Eight teams have games at West Little River Park on Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
