MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Miami-Dade shooting: Clayton Dillard, 26, among 2 dead as dad screams at son's killers: 'You're gonna burn'

Clayton Dillard, father to a 2-year-old, died in the shooting at a Miami-Dade concert during Memorial Day weekend

During a news conference, the heartbroken father of Clayton Dillard III, who was shot and killed in a Miami concert venue on May 30, screamed at officers: "You all killed my baby." Clayton Dillard II sobbed as he interrupted the meeting and was brought away just a day after appealing with authorities to "keep" his 24-year-old son's body after he was shot dead in Florida. “You’re gonna burn, you hear me,” Dillard said, according to the Miami Herald. “You killed a good kid. For no reason. You’re gonna burn.”

In the early hours of Sunday, May 30 morning, three gunmen were seen heading toward a concert near the El Mula Banquet Hall with semi-automatic guns before allegedly killing two people and injuring 21 others.  Dillard’s son and another man who was killed, Desmond Owens, were both 26-years-old, according to multiple law enforcement sources. The other 21 victims who were wounded are between 17 and 32 years of age. The victims of the shooting were taken to various hospitals in the area. Following the Memorial Day weekend shooting in south Florida, police are on the lookout for the three suspects. Clayton Dillard Sr, who was obviously angry during the news conference, yelled at politicians and police personnel. 

READ MORE

Colorado Springs shooting: Man kills 6 and himself at birthday party, Internet says 'NRA has ZERO shame'

Is Boosie Badazz OK? 1 injured in shooting at 'Clutchin' video recording in Alabama

Mass shootings have occurred in recent months at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California,a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta. Earlier in April, Joe Biden condemned gun violence, announcing a series of executive actions and legislative proposals. "We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in this country. There’s no reason somebody needs a weapon of war with 100 rounds in a magazine. None," he said in an announcement at the Rose Garden on April 8. 

The shooting stemmed from an ongoing rivalry between two different groups, Miami-Dade Homicide Bureau Maj Jorge Aguiar said on May 31. The intended target was believed to have been standing in front of the concert venue when the shooting began, he said.

Who was Clayton Dillard?

Dillard, 26, had a 2-year-old son, according to his grandmother, the East Bay Times reported. She told CNN that family members tried to contact Dillard several times on May 30 and looked for him at local hospitals. Many members of the extended family spent several hours at the shooting location later that day.

He had been pleading for his son's body to be removed from the crime scene, which had been covered by a tarp for about 18 hours as investigators investigated, according to WGLP. Dillard implored, "I need to hold him. I need to hold him! You killed the wrong kids!" Dillard’s body remained in 90-degree heat for nearly 18 hours.

Clayton Dillard Sr, interrupted Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez as he was speaking about the El Mula Banquet Hall shooting, which left two men dead and 21 people injured. "You all killed my kid, you must burn," an emotional Dillard shouted to politicians and police officers as he was escorted away, according to NBC Miami. "You killed a good kid."

"And that's the pain that you see. That is the pain that affects our community right there, right before you, that's why together, all of us, we must work harder to bring justice to these families who are crying as you hear right now," Ramirez said. "Know that the Miami-Dade Police Department will not stop, we will bring justice, our community is united." Ramirez added the shooting at the club was "targeted" and was "definitely not random."