Eileen Kelley, Chris Perkins and Brooke Baitinger
South Florida Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A hail of gunfire exploded from multiple high-powered guns and rifles in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, causing a crowd to scramble and leaving three wounded, including a 6-year-old girl.
Multiple shooters began firing more than 50 rounds just before 10 p.m., striking both the inside and outside of Tony’s Market at the corner of Northwest 22nd Road and Franklin Drive.
A lively party inside the store turned to chaos. Children covered their ears to blunt the jarring sound of gunfire as they ducked for cover. A mother rushed in with her little girl, the glass door to the market shattering, according to store surveillance video. The girl’s mom tried to avoid the gunfire as she carried her little girl, but the child still was struck.
A 16-year-old boy and a man also were shot.
The wounded girl and boy still were in the hospital Monday, but are expected to recover, police said. The wounded man already has been released from the hospital, said Ali Adamson a spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Police say they are looking for the shooters, whom they believe were attending this impromptu and violent block party.
Paramedics arrived within minutes of the mayhem, placing the little girl on a stretcher and taking her to Broward Health Medical Center. Not long after they arrived at the hospital, the 16-year-old shooting victim arrived in a car as did the wounded man.
Callers flooded the emergency dispatch service.
“We have people shot,” said a man who reported the shooting. “People injured. A lot of shots going on.”
The man begs for help to come quickly. His pleas get drowned by people who are wailing inside the store.
“Oh my God. Oh my God, they are inside the store,” he says before shouting at people inside to lock the door.
There’s another call, this time the voice of what sounds like a young girl: “They’re having a shootout.”
Another man calls and says about 10 people were shooting guns: “There’s a lot of guns.”
“A little girl got shot. Oh man, they are still shooting,” he said. “There’s so many people I just saw a bunch of people shooting from different directions.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident or the identities of those involved are encouraged to contact Broward County Crimes Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), where you can remain anonymous, or Detective Jameson Jones at 954-828-5771.
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