Florida shooting victim ID’d after more than 20 injured at banquet hall
Clayton Dillard III's dad said his body remained covered by a tarp at the crime scene in 90-degree heat for hours.
One of the victims fatally wounded at a mass shooting in Northwest Miami-Dade has been identified as Clayton Dillard III.
Twenty-two people were injured, two fatally, in Sunday’s morning’s shooting, which, according to reports, began after three people stepped out of a white Nissan Pathfinder in front of El Mula Banquet Hall after midnight and fired assault rifles and handguns into a crowd.
The venue had been rented out for a concert that night.
Victims of the shooting were transported to various hospitals in the region. Dillard and one other person were pronounced dead at the scene.
Dillard’s father told a local news outlet that he begged to see his son’s body on Sunday, but it remained covered by a tarp at the active crime scene. A report says the young man’s body remained in 90-degree heat for nearly 18 hours.
Read More: Fan arrested after throwing bottle at Kyrie Irving, faces lifetime ban
Angelica Green, whose 24-year-old son was shot in the incident, said her son called her “frantic” to tell her and her husband that he loves them. She said he told them “guys came with ski masks and hoodies and just started shooting up the crowd.”
“He’s not a statistic. He’s a graduate from college last year,” Green told CNN. “So he’s educated. He was going out with his educated cousin to just celebrate the weekend, and they had not made it into the club as of yet.”
“They said that some guys, three guys that they noticed … they just started shooting … for whatever reason, we don’t know,” she said.
Read More: Vets return to Memorial Day traditions as pandemic eases
Reaction to the night’s carnage ranged from anxiousness and anger to worry and resolve.
“I am at the scene of another targeted and cowardly act of gun violence, where over 20 victims were shot and 2 have sadly died,” Miami Dade Police Department Director Alfredo Ramirez III tweeted. “These are cold-blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice. My deepest condolences to the family of the victims.”
Businessman and The Profit host Marcus Lemonis tweeted: “I’m offering a $100,000 reward to help authorities in my hometown @MiamiDadePD arrest and convict the suspect/suspects .. pass this on.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!
You Might Like
