A man is speaking out, two days after he was shot at a popular burger restaurant in Wynwood.
The 25-year-old man asked us not to release his name, as the shooter remains on the run Wednesday.
It happened outside the Skinny Louie restaurant near Northwest 3rd Avenue and 24th Street just before 10 p.m. on Monday.
The victim told NBC6 that he knows the man who pulled the trigger and claimed the shooting was an act of retaliation.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
He said it was girlfriend's cousin who shot him because members of her family don't agree with their relationship.
“As soon as I saw him, he sucker-punched me," he explained.
The victim also noted that the way he placed his hand over his head likely saved his life, as his arm blocked his face from the bullet.
Local
"If I didn’t put my hand up, he would have hit me in my head. He hit me in my leg a couple times but I didn’t even feel it," he added. "I was just running off in the heat of the moment.”
“We know for a fact that they know each other. They might have had some problems in the past and this was retaliation or due to an ongoing argument between both of them," Michael Vega of the Miami Police Department confirmed Monday.
The victim was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he continues to recover.
It does not appear that any of the workers or customers were hurt during the shooting; however, they were clearly shaken up by the violent incident.
"We were just sitting at the bar right next to here, and all of a sudden there's like eight or nine shots in very rapid succession," witness Artem Grib said.
