A search was underway Thursday in Florida for a gunman who shot and injured three women – one of whom remains in critical condition – during a political dispute, police said.
The conflict unfolded early Wednesday outside a Miami apartment complex near NW 5th Ave. and 19th Street, just a few miles from the city’s downtown, Miami police spokesman Mike Vega told CBS News.
Vega said a group of people were gathered and drinking alcohol, but their discussions became heated when the focus shifted to the recent presidential election, which saw former President Donald Trump win back the House White.
The tension continued to escalate as the conversation continued, Vega said. Eventually, one of the people involved walked to a nearby vehicle, grabbed a gun and opened fire.
“It appears that the alcohol, along with the election discussion, caused this person to walk up to the vehicle, grab a gun and start shooting,” Vega said. “This is not acceptable. We must manage our differences and respect each other’s beliefs. We must either reach an agreement or simply avoid such topics.”
When police arrived on scene around 12:30 a.m., they found three women suffering from gunshot wounds. They were all rushed to a local hospital – one of them in critical condition after being shot in the stomach, while the other two were in stable condition at the time.
None of the victims have been identified, but police said they were all aged in their 20s or 30s.
Neighbor Suly Ashe told CBS Miami that she was awakened by the sound of gunfire, which was immediately followed by screams.
“It’s horrible,” she said. “Whoever is president today is president for all of us, whether we are Democrats or Republicans. It doesn’t matter. This is our country. It’s very sad that this happened.
So far, no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting and no suspects had been identified as of Thursday afternoon.
An investigation into the violence is ongoing and anyone with information was asked to contact Miami police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers.
