High-powered gunfire rattled a Miami Gardens neighborhood in the middle of the night on Wednesday. NBC6’s Jamie Guirola reports
High-powered gunfire rattled a Miami Gardens neighborhood in the middle of the night on Wednesday, and a barrage of bullets pierced through several cars, homes, and windows while neighbors were inside sleeping.
The ambush with ammunition happened just after midnight in the 4200 block of 196th Street. Witnesses described at least five people with high-powered weapons waiting for a silver Nissan. As the Nissan approached, video showed the automatic gunfire start and continue for 18 seconds.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
Louis Rivera was on the couch watching television when the shots rang out. He said he could hear at least 50 rounds.
“Look, at my age, man, I'm 68. I've been through hell and back, so this doesn't scare me," he said. "What scares me is that they could go inside my house and they can hurt some of my family."
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
Rivera’s wife and 6-year-old daughter hid in a room, ducking for cover. His little girl had just returned from cancer treatment at the hospital.
“When we came in, she was in pain she was crying. She’s a tough cookie, but I mean this right here, she was scared," Rivera said. "She was crying she didn't know what was happening, but we were there for her."
The shot-up Nissan crashed into Rivera’s fence before the people inside the car got out and ran. Rivera thought some of them went into his backyard and said he armed himself immediately while calling 911.
Local
“I got a gun right on top of a high cabinet there, I got it because I saw that guy had jumped to the back," Rivera said.
Police eventually showed up only to find the neighborhood block looking like a war zone with bullet holes in homes, windows, concrete and cars.
A neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, said he’s lived in the area since 2017 and has never seen anything like this so close to home.
“There was like 50, 60 bullets on the floor. The truck got hit like 12 (times)," he said. "We got to continue living life. It's normal. It's everywhere. It's Miami Beach, Brickell, it's gonna happen everywhere, to be honest."
Police didn't disclose much about their investigation, but neighbors said the people in the silver car eventually came back — and police let them go, saying they were victims.
