Two Dead, One Injured In Lauderhill Mall Shooting
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LAUDERHILL (CBSMiami) - Two people were killed, a third injured in a shooting Sunday night in the parking lot of the Lauderhill Mall.
The shooting happened a little after 10 p.m. Witnesses said there was a car show going on at a nearby park and people were gathering in the mall lot when shots rang out.
"You can imagine how chaotic this scene could have been, you had several hundred vehicles," said Lauderhill Police Lt. Mike Santiago. "There was some sort of altercation that occurred in the beginning that resulted in this gunfire.
It was a chaotic scene as people ran for their lives while the sound of gunfire ripped through the night.
Ronald Youngblood was there when the shots rang out.
He was looking for his cousin when he walked up on a heated argument.
"The next thing you know I hear gunshots," he said. "I basically took cover."
In a matter of seconds, bullets were flying. Police say they found shells from different caliber guns; that tells detectives multiple people were firing.
"I started seeing people moving around and then started cursing and then a fight broke loose. I got a little closer to see if he was part of the fight and then I heard gunshots. The first thing that hit my mind was why you just run because I didn't want to get hit by a bullet."
A single Lauderhill police officer who happened to be a restaurant next door was the first to arrive on the scene and found a man with a gunshot wound on the ground in front of the AutoZone.
Arriving paramedics found a second man who had been shot near the Citi Trends store, a few doors down from the first victim.
Both were taken to Broward Health Medical Center where they died. They've been identified as 33-year-old Omarie Stephens and 32-year-old Lawrence Hill. A third person who was struck by gunfire in the leg drove himself to Plantation General Hospital.
"We don't have any suspect information at this time, we don't know if there was an exchange of gunfire," said Lt. Santiago.
One witness said he saw a man tuck a gun into his waistband and run across the street. Police confirm there is no suspect in custody. What led to the fight and shooting is under investigation.
