Miami-Dade correctional officer's 10-year-old son shot to death in front of horrified siblings
IVES DAIRY RD, FLORIDA: A 10-year-old boy died in a shooting in the Miami-Dade neighborhood of Ives Estates, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. The shooting occurred while the young boy, whose mother is a correctional officer, was with his four siblings, whose ages range from eight to fifteen, while their parents were off at work, according to detectives Alvaro Zabaleta and Chris Thomas.
On Thursday, November 10, at around 5 pm, officers received a call reporting that a child had been shot. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel arrived at a unit on the third level of the guard-gated Horizons North condominium complex at 665 Ives Dairy Road at 5.10 pm. The injured boy was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center by fire rescue workers who arrived in an ambulance and a helicopter at Andover Middle School, located at 121 NE 207 St in Miami Gardens. A doctor there later declared him dead, according to the authorities. Miami-Dade Police Department reported that the boy was shot by another juvenile member present in the Horizons North apartment complex.
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Outside the hospital, the mother of the boy was seen walking with a Miami-Dade police officer while sporting a white blouse with the logo of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. She received an embrace from the policeman as she approached the building.
On Thursday night, November 10, Zabaleta stated that the investigation was still ongoing. He said, "The focus is on the fact that we have a 10-year-old child that lost his life because of a firearm. Now they are going to try to find out exactly... how did this happen? How could've this happened? Who did it?"
Zabaleta stated that the police are awaiting a warrant to search the house and gather evidence. He added that the detectives will question the children in a "delicate" manner. Officers advise gun owners, particularly those with children, to keep their weapons stored properly. "To own a gun we have to make sure that comes with great responsibility," Zabaleta stated.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital claims that there are still an estimated 300 million weapons in the United States, even if the number of families with guns is decreasing. Guns kill roughly 1,300 children each year, and many more suffer life-altering injuries, according to the organization.