Cops: Boy Shot in 'Drive-By,' With Dad Behind the Wheel

Father of 10-year-old charged with child neglect after paintball incident leads to real gun violence
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2021 10:55 AM CDT
Cops: Boy Shot in 'Drive-By,' With Dad Behind the Wheel
Miami-Dade police work the scene of a shooting outside a banquet hall near Hialeah, Fla., on Sunday.   (Joe Cavaretta/Sun Sentinel via AP)

Police say a Florida man agreed to take his son out for a "drive-by" shooting using a paintball marker, which ended with the 10-year-old boy being shot with a real gun. Michael Williams, 26, drove his van as his son leaned out, firing off paintballs into a crowd of young people gathered outside a home in Opa-locka on Sunday, police say. Believing "he and his family were under attack," homeowner Gregory Barns pulled out a gun and fired a single shot at the van, police add, per the Miami Herald. The 10-year-old was hit, but that was just the start. The boy then fell out of the vehicle and was run over, according to a police report. It notes Williams then grabbed the boy, put him in the van, and headed home, where the boy's mother called 911.

The boy was rushed to a hospital. His current condition is unclear, though he's expected to survive. His father has been booked on a charge of child neglect with great bodily harm. Police say the shooting was the boy's idea, but that Williams "acted recklessly by agreeing" to it. One witness said Williams and his son were wearing ski masks. But Williams denied that to WSVN. He said children were running around shooting paintballs at each other when his son was hit with a real bullet. The Washington Post notes gun violence is a real problem in Miami-Dade County's Opa-locka. One person was killed in a drive-by shooting in nearby Wynwood on Friday, per the AP. By the end of the weekend, three people had been killed and 30 injured in shootings across the county, per CBS Miami. (More shooting stories.)

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