A Miami Gardens mother is speaking out after she and her children were targeted in a shooting that authorities believe stemmed from a road rage incident on the Palmetto Expressway Tuesday night.
The terrifying encounter unfolded around 9:30 p.m. near Northwest 47th Avenue, prompting Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) to shut down the expressway’s eastbound lanes for about two hours while they investigated.
According to FHP, the shooting began after an occupant of a black Chevy Malibu opened fire on a white Hyundai sedan carrying Cassandra Morgan and her three children, ages 15, 9, and 6.
Morgan recounted that the situation began on a local street, where the Chevy veered into her lane, prompting her to honk. After she passed the vehicle, the occupants flashed a middle finger at her and then began tailing her aggressively onto the expressway.
As she neared NW 47th Avenue, shots were fired into her vehicle.
“They went ahead of me a little bit, and the passenger shot at the windshield, and they drove off,” she said.
One of the bullets struck her 15-year-old daughter in the left shoulder. Morgan quickly pulled over to the shoulder and called for help. The teen was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where doctors removed bullet fragments from her shoulder. Thankfully, her injuries were not life-threatening, and she has since been released.
“She’s OK. She’s still shaken up… She’s scared, pretty scared,” Morgan said.
The incident has left the family traumatized.
“The safety of my kids — I just feel unsafe out here,” Morgan said. “It’s not something anybody wants to go through.”
FHP is actively searching for the suspects involved. They’re asking the public to help locate a black Chevy Malibu, possibly with one blue fog light.
Anyone with information is urged to contact FHP by dialing *FHP (347).
“That could’ve been a relative of yours. That could be your child,” said FHP Trooper Joe Sanchez.