11-YEAR-OLD GIRL SHOT IN THE HEAD DURING CROSSFIRE WHILE SITTING IN FAMILY’S SUV AT MCDONALD’S
11-YEAR-OLD GIRL SHOT IN THE HEAD DURING CROSSFIRE WHILE SITTING IN FAMILY’S SUV AT MCDONALD’S
An 11-year-old girl was unintentionally shot in the head while sitting inside her family’s SUV during a shooting outside a McDonald’s in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Miraculously, she survived.
According to authorities, Dora Belen Rivera was in the vehicle with her father, Oscar Roman Miron, and her two younger siblings, ages 2 and 5, while their mother went inside the restaurant to pick up food on June 27.
Investigators say the family was not the intended target.
Police allege that 18-year-old McDonald’s employee Ralph N-Kosi Blue III was walking to work when he became involved in an altercation in the parking lot. An arrest report obtained by NBC Miami states that two days before the shooting, several people had come to the restaurant looking for Blue, who reportedly hid in the back of the business.
Surveillance footage reportedly shows another young man running toward Blue before taking cover behind the family’s SUV. Blue allegedly drew a handgun and fired toward the individual, striking the family’s vehicle instead.
Rivera was shot in the head, while her father suffered a gunshot wound to the hip. The couple’s two younger children were not physically injured but witnessed the traumatic incident.
Rivera was rushed to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. According to a GoFundMe established for the family, doctors were unable to remove the bullet. The fundraiser says she now faces a long road to recovery, while her siblings continue to cope with the emotional trauma of what they witnessed.
Miron has since been released from the hospital, and the family’s focus remains on Rivera’s recovery and supporting the younger children.
Blue has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.
In a statement provided to the Daily Mail, Hallandale Beach McDonald’s owner Brad Ashlin confirmed Blue is no longer employed by the restaurant.
“The individual reported to be involved is no longer employed at our organization,” Ashlin said. “We are devastated by the shooting that occurred outside our restaurant this past weekend. Our thoughts are with the father and young daughter who were injured, as well as their family during this difficult time.”
I will put a link to the family’s GoFundMe in the comments.
The investigation remains ongoing.
