Miami-Dade County

Man arrested after 4-year-old boy injured in Tamiami shooting

One of the rounds grazed the child's torso, who was inside an adjacent home, according to police.

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A man has been arrested in connection to a Tamiami shooting that injured a four-year-old boy on Saturday night.

Dylan Suarez, 4, is still recovering after being grazed by a stray bullet.

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According to Miami-Dade Police, it was shortly after 8:45 p.m. when two adults were arguing in the area of the 1200 block of Southwest 127th Court.

The incident escalated and one of them, identified as Christopher Delcarpio, fired a gun, police said.

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One of the rounds grazed the torso of Suarez, who was inside an adjacent home, police confirmed. Delcarpio then left the area in a car.

Detectives tracked him down Sunday and conducted a traffic stop, according to an arrest report. He initially resisted arrest and suffered minor injuries.

He was arrested for his involvement in the shooting and is facing attempted murder charges as well as resisting an officer without violence. Before being transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, Delcarpio was treated for his injuries, police said.

Booking photo of Christopher Delcarpio
Miami-Dade Corrections

Investigators later obtained a search warrant for Delcarpio's home, in which they found 37 live 9mm caliber rounds of ammunition – consistent with the casings located at the shooting scene. They also found some 9mm caliber casings consistent with those found at the scene as well as clothes he was wearing during the altercation, the arrest report stated.

Suarez's mother, Hassell Oporta, spoke to NBC6 on Sunday about the traumatic experience.

"We were just sitting in his room, he was playing with his tablet, I heard the gunshot and the closet just exploded," Oporta explained. "My son started to scream and touched where he had been hit. I have another daughter, who is also very nervous. She started crying and screaming."

Suarez was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Oporta said her child is now afraid to be back in his own home.

"He's nervous, obviously, but he's doing better. He doesn't feel comfortable being here. He doesn't want to be anywhere near the closet," Oporta said. "He keeps telling me, 'mom, I don't want boom.'"

After the shooting, the two people involved in the dispute fled in an unknown direction, police said.

"This should've never happened," Oporta said. "I was in my home. I wasn't at a party. I was home with my son about to go to sleep. A 4-year-old child should never be the victim of a crime like this. Never."

Bullet holes could be seen on the side of Oporta's home, and at least one window was left shattered by the gunfire.

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