An 18-year-old man died after a verbal argument outside a fast-food restaurant in northwest Miami-Dade erupted into gunfire Friday evening, according to investigators. The shooter ran from the scene and has not been caught.
Deputies responded to the restaurant near Northwest 27th Avenue and 108th Street overnight, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The station identified the victim as 18-year-old Nathan Bentley. The Miami Herald reported that deputies had not publicly identified the victim, a detail that conflicts with NBC 6's reporting naming Bentley, as well as similar identification reported by WSVN.
Investigators say the trouble began when Bentley and the suspect got into a verbal altercation that quickly escalated. The suspect pulled out a gun, shot Bentley and fled the area, NBC 6's report states, citing deputies.
Victim Rushed to Trauma Center, Later Died
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported Bentley to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center after the shooting. He was found with apparent gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries there, according to WSVN.
The outlet's report notes that the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Homicide Bureau is now handling the investigation. NBC 6 reported that no arrests had been made. The Miami Herald reported that the gunman remained at large.
Separate Shooting Reported Days Earlier
The Herald also described an earlier, unrelated shooting near a different northwest Miami-Dade McDonald's that left a man hospitalized. In that incident, deputies responded to reports of gunfire in the 600 block of Northwest 118th Street shortly before 11 p.m. on a Tuesday, and the wounded man was transported in stable condition, the newspaper reported. That case should not be confused with Bentley's fatal shooting, which investigators tie to a different location and a verbal dispute rather than the unspecified circumstances of the earlier incident.
Miami-Dade County maintains a Crime Data Dashboard that tracks broader crime statistics across the county, according to Miami-Dade County. Earlier this year, the Herald reported that Miami-Dade had recorded its lowest homicide count in at least 58 years, based on CDC data, underscoring how fatal shootings like Bentley's still draw intense scrutiny even as overall violent crime trends downward.
No further details about the suspect's identity or a motive beyond the reported argument have been released. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Homicide Bureau continues to investigate.
