What to Know
- Running back Anthony Jones and offensive lineman Mershawn Miller were visiting friends at around 2:40 p.m.when they were shot.
- Jones suffered injuries to the face and back, and he was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
- Miller was shot in the arm and arrived in stable condition, being released overnight.
Police are looking for who was responsible for a drive-by shooting in Opa-locka that injured two Florida International University football players.
Running back Anthony Jones and offensive lineman Mershawn Miller - who were also high school teammates at Miami Central High School - were visiting friends at around 2:40 p.m. in the 2400 block of NW 140th Street when a car drove by and someone inside started shooting at them, police say.
Jones suffered injuries to the face and back, and he was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in serious condition with injuries that are non-life threatening, police say. Miller was shot in the arm and arrived in stable condition, being released overnight.
Officials looking for a 2015 dark gray Nissan Sentra without tinted windows. A description of the suspect and a motive were not immediately available.
"I thought my life was going to change," Miller's father Emerson told reporters Thursday night outside of Jackson Memorial.
Miller told reporters his son was "at the wrong place at the wrong time" and called the shooter a "coward."
"You shot two good kids trying to do something with themselves," he said. "You're out here doing nothing."
Video from the scene shows family members in the front of Jackson Memorial hugging the offensive lineman with his arm bandaged up.
"When you hear the news that we received today, your heart drops," FIU coach Butch Davis said Thursday night. "We've been receiving encouraging reports on their conditions and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Anthony Jones and Mershawn Miller during this time."
FIU officials sent a letter to the university community expressing similar sentiments.
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"Our thoughts and prayers are with the students and their families," they said.
Jones — who was raised with his nephew, former Central and FSU star and current Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook — sat out last season with an injury.
He returned to the lineup in a big way in FIU's opener, starting at running back and scoring two touchdowns in last weekend's 38-28 loss to Indiana. Miller is a redshirt freshman who appeared in the Indiana game as a reserve.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade CrimeStoppers.
