Participants at a Miami event celebrating MLK Day scrambled for safety Monday afternoon after gunfire erupted, leaving eight people, including five juveniles, injured, officials said.
Video from CNN affiliate WSVN captured the emotional scene at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park. Law officers and paramedics treated the wounded and tried to calm friends and family.
A family festival was taking place in the park after the annual King parade in Liberty City. Shots were fired at about 3:40 p.m. ET.
Miami-Dade Police said one victim was in critical condition, while five were in stable condition and two were grazed, treated and released. The victims ranged from 13 to 30 years old. The patient in critical condition is a 20-year-old man.
“Investigators have detained two subjects for questioning to determine their involvement, if any,” police said. “Two firearms were also recovered. It is unknown if additional subjects are at large as this investigation continues to be very active.”
Witness Tammy Meeks told WSVN the incident came “too close to home.”
“This should be one of the one days out of the year where whether you’re white, black, Hispanic — no matter what you are, we come together and just have fun and care for one another,” she said. “And it’s senseless that we can’t just do that on one day of the year.”
