MIAMI (AP) – Officials in Miami and relatives of victims are pleading with the community for information on suspects in a shooting at a banquet hall that killed three people and wounded 20 others. Police have made no arrests.
Ashley Gantt, who is a cousin of one of the three victims – Desmond Owens – and also is representing his family as an attorney, issued a “call to action to speak up and say something” on what they know about the Memorial Day weekend shootings.
“It was so many people, friends, loved ones,” she said. “The pain and the suffering is reverberating throughout our community. No one deserves to lose their loved ones like this in such a senseless act.”
Police have said they’re focusing on a rivalry between local rappers in their investigation. But Miami-Dade County’s top prosecutor, Katherine Rundle, indicated that there’s been a hesitancy among members of the community to come forward with tips because of a climate of violent retribution for turncoats and a general mistrust in law enforcement.
“You’ve got to give us information. I know there’s a lot of talk of people who live in fear of retaliation, but we do have victim protection procedures,” Rundle said. “People want us to get the killers and guns off the street and people want to be safe … We hear you, but we need you.”