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Miami Police Appealing For Public's Help In Little Haiti Homicide

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami Police are appealing for the public's help after a male victim is shot and killed and another is left in critical condition.

It happened late Tuesday night in Little Haiti and an extraordinary number of shots were fired. A CBS4 crew spotted at least 56 evidence markers with bullet casings beside them and a bicycle lying on the ground nearby. A tarpaulin covered the victim's body.

The male victim who survived the shooting was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Little Haiti Miami Homicide
Bullet casings litter the road at the scene of a homicide in Little Haiti in Miami. (CBS4)

CBS4 also learned that a special, 9-year-old Belgian Malinoi police dog that was brought in discovered more shell casings.

Coincidentally, it happened at 11:09 p.m. right next to the Touissant Louverture elementary school at Northeast 1st Avenue and 59th Street.

Officer Mike Vega, a spokesman for Miami Police, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "This is something that is tragic. It is not just that 2 persons were shot but it happened right in front of or right next to a school. Now I know the time frame was not when kids were in school but can you just imagine if those kids were in school at the time of the shooting. This is something tragic."

Vega was also struck by the number of shots that were fired.

"We know that a lot of shots were fired," he said. "This was something intentional because there were not just 1 or 2 shots."

Neighbor Jose Espinosa said "I just heard 10 or 12 rounds just before 11:15 at night. I cane outside and the police started arriving and there was an ambulance. I hope they catch whoever did this because this was a human who lost their live. I hope someone will come forward."

Vega said police dogs like Dexter can be very useful in such investigations.

"This is a perfect example of how dogs are helpful. They are not just looking out for the bad guys," said Vega. "They also help us retrieve evidence that the naked eye of an officer can not see."

It's not known why this shooting happened and police do not have any description to release of any suspects. They are looking for surveillance tape and scoured the neighborhood on Wednesday looking for more evidence and witnesses.

"We need the public's help," said Vega. "We need the community to assist us as to who did this and why they did it. Anything can be useful, such as a description of any suspicious vehicle or persons in the area. That would be helpful to us. If you know anything call us here at the police department or at Crimestoppers."

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).

There is a reward of up to $3,000.

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