Miami-Dade described as 'war zone' after another deadly shooting
Police continue to investigate a number of shootings that have taken place in the area in the last few weeks
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A man and woman were killed early Tuesday morning in a drive-by shooting near Miami, police said, the latest bloodshed in an area seeing a massive uptick of violent crime.
Miami-Dade police responded to the scene near the Brownville Village Apartments in Brownsville after receiving an alert from ShotSpotter — which alerts them to gunfire in the area — at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, local news outlets reported.
At the scene, police found a car that had crashed against a fence. Inside the car, they found a woman dead from gunshot wounds and a man with critical injuries. He was taken to a hospital where he later died, police said.
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Police told news outlets that a preliminary investigation indicated that someone in another car shot at them. The drive-by shooting caused their car to crash.
Television video footage showed the crashed car, with dozens of evidence markers on the ground. WPLG reported that every marker had a bullet casing next to it; WFOR reported that police found more than 88 bullet casings in the area.
Locals said the alleged crime sounded like a "war zone."
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"They’re keeping the police so busy that the police don’t have opportunity to catch them," a neighbor told Local 10 News. "They [can’t] solve one murder before another murder is committed."
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Another neighbor told WSVN he heard the alleged crime occur.
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"I was standing outside. All I heard was ‘Dun! Dun! Dun! Dun! Dun! Bam! Bam! Bam!'" he said. "Rapid shooting. We thought it was on the next block."
He added, "After it stopped, we just said, ‘Wow! What is this?' Another shooting in Miami. Another killing is all we can sit here and say: ‘What is going on?’"
Investigators did not release the identities of the two victims. No additional details were available.
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It was not immediately known whether investigators think this shooting is connected to the others.
Police continue to investigate a number of shootings that have taken place in the area in the last few weeks.
Three people died and at least five were wounded at a hookah lounge graduation party early Sunday. Two of those who died were in a bullet-riddled car that crashed into a nearby wall.
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Yahtayvius McCutcheon, 17, Quantayvius McCutcheon, 19, and Keyshad Richardson, 19, are each charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon.
Sunday’s shooting follows a bloody Memorial Day weekend in the Miami area that saw three people killed and 20 wounded in a still-unsolved mass shooting at a banquet hall.
Two people were wounded during a shooting at the popular Prime 112 steakhouse; two people have been charged, including a rapper associated with rap star DaBaby.
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Another shooting on May 28 in the Wynwood area killed one person and injured six others.
Miami-Dade Police and elected officials held a press conference launching a new crime-fighting operation to combat gun violence last week.
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Their 12-week initiative, dubbed "Operation Summer Heat," will consist of more police patrols in cities throughout the county along with overtime and greater efforts to monitor social media and the sharing of intelligence across law enforcement agencies.
Beginning Friday, 17 strike teams comprised of code enforcement officers working alongside law enforcement officers would begin targeting illegal businesses, a source of some of the violence that has permeated throughout the county.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.