Two dead and more than 20 injured in Miami banquet hall shooting

Daily US Times: At least two people were killed and more than 20 injured in Miami early on Sunday as gunmen opened fire on concertgoers outside a banquet hall. It was Miami’s second deadly mass shooting in little more than 24 hours.

The shooting happened in the Hialeah area, a police spokesman said. Three people got out of a white SUV car and began shooting on a line outside the El Mula banquet hall. The attackers used assault rifles and a handgun, authorities said.

The Miami-Dade police director, Alfredo Ramirez, said in a tweet: “These are cold-blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice.”

He told Miami Herald: “This is a despicable act of gun violence, a cowardly act. This type of gun violence has to stop. Every weekend it is the same thing. This is targeted, this is definitely not random.”

A drive-by shooting in Wynwood left one dead and six wounded on Friday night. Authorities were alerted by ShotSpotter, an audible detection system that relays the sound of gunfire.

A law enforcement source said on Sunday morning that officers who arrived to find victims lying in the road outside the rented party venue likened the scene to “a war zone”.

With almost all coronavirus pandemic restrictions lifted, visitors have swelled numbers in Miami, a popular vacation destination, for the Memorial Day weekend.

Miami Police have not said if they believe the shootings are linked, but said that it appeared the victims were targeted in both attacks.

After the Friday incident, detectives found shell casings from at least two types of weapon.

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