Who was Elijah La France? Boy, 3, shot dead at his birthday party in Florida Airbnb rental, gunman at large
MIAMI-DADE, FLORIDA: Celebrating his birthday, Elijah La France was shot and killed by an unidentified person in Miami-Dade’s Golden Glades neighborhood. Details of the incident aren't fully available with the police still investigating.
The incident occurred at an Airbnb short-term rental in Miami-Dade, at around 8:00 pm on Saturday, 24 April. When police responded, they took Elijah in their patrol car to a nearby hospital, but he was pronounced dead by the doctor. Another woman was also wounded in the gunfire. The 21-year-old was taken to Aventura Hospital, and is reportedly recovering and in "stable condition".
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Police are now looking for the shooter, who is yet to be identified. The Miami-Dade Police put out a public call for information and urging people to call (305) 471-8477 if they have any tips.
SEEKING INFORMATION: On 4/24/21, Elijah LaFrance was killed in the area of N. Miami Avenue & NE 158 Street. Anyone with information is urged to contact @CrimeStopper305 at (305) 471-8477 or by dialing **TIPS. pic.twitter.com/VbAC4hqdOj
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) April 25, 2021
Here's everything we know so far about Elijah and the shooting.
Who is Elijah La France?
Not much is known about the three-year-old or his family. We could not find any mentions of Elijah's parents in any of the press reports or police information. Rapper Zoey Dollaz shared images of Elijah on Twitter, which showed him with a younger girl the rapper claims is his singer. NBC 6 reported that "family members told NBC 6 the party was for him and his little sister." We have been unable to verify these claims. In a Facebook post, The Haitian American claims Elijah is of Haitian-American descent.
Look at the way he loved his sister bro 😢 💔 pic.twitter.com/yZZLLbjHMt
— zoey dollaz (@ZoeyDollaz) April 25, 2021
Adrian Annestor Elijah's uncle gave a brief interview to CBS Miami and said, "I wish it could have been me because I’ve lived long enough. He couldn’t even say mom and dad." The family was celebrating Elijah's birthday at an Airbnb on Northeast 158th Street, when the shooting happened. Police were alerted to the shooting through the SpotShotter app. Speaking to reporters, Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez said, "as a father and as a member of this community, I am completely devastated. I’m disgusted."
It's unclear how the shooting started. A neighbor, Zobop told CBS Miami, "My sister was outside with me and next thing we know, ‘bam, bam, bam.’ We heard the shots fired. A tree blocked my view but my neighbor across the street he saw everything, when a man pulled the machine gun and started shooting." The neighbor refused to be identified, but said the shots had also hit his home and car. The unidentified person said, "Lots of fires. It sounded like a series of firecrackers. More than 30 rounds I heard. And then I saw a person running to a car and then a car took off high speed and two more cars followed all going east."