Shootout In N.W. Miami-Dade Prompts Lockdown At 2 Schools

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NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) - Gunfire during a wild shootout scared residents in a Northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood and prompted a "lockdown" at two nearby schools.

Miami-Dade Police spokesman Detective Daniel Ferrin told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that gunmen in two black cars fired at each other and then immediately took off. Fortunately no one was injured but bullets did pierce at least one vehicle including a white AT&T truck.

The incident prompted an immediate response by agencies including Miami-Dade Police and Miami-Dade Schools Police. They sealed off an area on N.W. 50th St. between N.W. 22nd and 23rd Avenues.

Dozens of shots were fired. D'Oench reported that there were markers for at least 60 shell casings.

"I heard gunshots, like an AK going off," said Sheridan Reese, who works at Earlington Heights Elementary School. "I thought we were getting shot up. So we locked down the school building."

CLICK HERE to watch Peter D'Oench's report

Brownsville Middle School, which was right next to where the shots were fired, was also on a brief lockdown.

"I am taking my daughter out of classes," said Tisha Wright, who went to Brownsville Middle after hearing about the shooting and pulled her daughter out of classes.

"I don't want her going to school where there are shootings," she said. "I was worried and I have big concerns that I was going to get a call that my daughter was hurt."

No bullets hit the nearby schools. But other parents and grandparents of students expressed similar concerns.

"I'm concerned," said one parent who did not want to provide his name. "It happened right in front of the school. As a parent I am real shaken up about that."

One student's grandmother, who also did not want to provide her name, said, "That's crazy. There's no protection for the school house. That's crazy."

Janice Brown immediately thought about her son.

"They need to stop the crime here in the neighborhood," said Brown. "I have an autistic son that goes here. It's bad. Kids could be transitioning from classrooms or going through the gate here. I feel bad because something could have happened."

Miami-Dade Police say so far they do not have a description of the suspects in the black cars.

They do need help from the public.