Newly released recordings of 911 calls provide detailed accounts of the tense and chaotic scene that unfolded on Wednesday night following a mass shooting in Fort Lauderdale.
Callers were distraught, pleading for assistance and questioning why such a violent incident would occur in a neighborhood where children reside.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” one caller expressed. “They are aware that there are kids living here. What is wrong with all of you? There’s something seriously wrong with this generation. It’s messed up.”
Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Patrick Lynn and Investigations Bureau Chief Luis Alvarez visited the apartment complex on Thursday to speak with residents and convey their concern about the “violent shooting,” according to the police.
Around 8:40 p.m. on Wednesday, two groups engaged in a confrontation that escalated into gunfire at the Broward Gardens apartment complex, located in the 2900 block of Northwest 19th Street.
Five individuals, including two juveniles and three adults, sustained injuries and were transported to Broward Health Medical Center.
One of the 911 callers mentioned that the children were playing with fireworks when another group arrived and began shooting. One child was shot in the leg, while two others were shot in the arm.
“Look at all that blood,” she recounted to the person on the other end of the phone line.
The mother of one of the injured children also dialed 911, desperately pleading for assistance and requesting ambulances.
Another woman, who was inside her home, described in a frantic manner to the 911 operator how at least one bullet had pierced through her window.
“Thank goodness for that extra layer of glass,” she remarked.
After providing details of what she witnessed, the woman grappled with the unfolding situation near her.
“They don’t realize that they are only causing harm to each other… an innocent child could be shot,” she lamented during the 911 call. “It’s so disheartening that I am a parent of this generation, and we have failed these children.”
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