In a tragic unfolding of events, a shooting in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood has claimed the life of a father of three and left another man critically injured. Around 1 a.m. on Friday, Miami Police responded to ShotSpotter alerts near Northeast 1st Avenue and 77th Street. Upon arrival, they discovered two men with gunshot wounds. Robin Fernandez, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene, while 32-year-old David Pichinte was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, where he is "fighting for his life" according to his wife, Liz Ortiz, in a statement obtained by CBS News Miami.
The second victim, Pichinte's relative Marlon Castro described the harrowing moment to CBS News Miami when a gunman "popped out of nowhere" and began chasing the group as they conversed on their doorstep. "He made a hand gesture, hinting he was looking for alcohol, but we were not drinking and had no cash," Castro said. It was after the refusal that the shooter pulled out a gun and, as the group fled, opened fire, fatally shooting Fernandez six times.
Footage from surveillance video shows the chaos of several men running from the gunman. Castro also recounted to CBS News Miami that Pichinte attempted to disarm the attacker, an act that led to him being shot while on the ground. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, and the suspect, described only as a "young man" by witnesses, is still at large. The police are appealing to the public for assistance and encourage anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
On a similar note, NBC Miami relayed the eyewitness account of Castro Martínez, who spoke of a stranger approaching his group that evening, ostensibly asking for a drink – an encounter that set off the lethal series of events. "When we tell him no, he goes crazy and starts chasing us all around the building, going crazy with the gun in his hand," Castro Martínez told NBC Miami in Spanish. After the shooting, a GoFundMe page was established for Fernandez, who worked in construction, to support the repatriation of his body to El Salvador and aid his devastated family.
The community in Little Haiti has been left shaken by the violence that erupted seemingly without provocation. "We all know each other here in the building, and never, never has anything like this ever happened, and we'd never seen that guy," Castro Martínez added, testifying to the shock that a stranger abruptly injected such tragedy into their lives, according to NBC Miami. As police continue their investigation, the families of both men are demanding justice and the community mourns the loss of a well-regarded man who leaves behind three children.
