A teenage girl is in the intensive care unit after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a Southwest Miami-Dade home on Tuesday night. NBC6’s Laura Rodriguez reports
A teenage girl is in the intensive care unit and a family dog is not doing well after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into a southwest Miami-Dade home on Tuesday night, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the girl's uncle.
Authorities said they responded shortly after 10 p.m. to the residence on the 27000 block of Southwest 143rd Place due to an "incendiary device."
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WATCH HERE"I heard a big explosion and then when I came out the room, my niece was on fire from the belly on down," the victim's emotional uncle, who did not want to be identified, told NBC6.
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Deputies said when they arrived, the victim had already been rushed "by a third party to an area hospital, and while at that facility, was airlifted by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to HCA Florida Kendall in critical condition."
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the patient "went by air to nearest pediatric trauma facility," but the victim's age and extent of their injuries were not immediately revealed.
The victim's uncle said it was a Molotov cocktail that got thrown into the home while his nieces and nephew were watching TV.
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"After we were cleaning we found like a jar, it probably looks like a Mason jar, with a candle wick and some type of liquid," he said. "She's very young, you know, and she's a teenager. She don't need that. Something like that, that's crazy."
The charred couch and burned clothes now sit outside the home.
"We got lucky she’s still alive," he said, choking back tears. "If only you could see her. It was really bad."
The family said their 13-year-old dog, Bonita, was also burned in the fire and isn't doing well.
The sheriff's office said detectives with the arson unit had assumed the investigation.
Authorities did not immediately provide information about a possible suspect.
