2 Miami Northwestern High Students Mourned

MIAMI, FL — Miami Northwestern Sr. High School was mourning the deaths of two students on Monday, according to Miami police. The students were among four people gunned down in Miami's Liberty City section on Sunday afternoon. The incident has sparked outrage in the community over gun violence.

"If we do not recruit kids into the good, someone's going to try to recruit them into the bad," declared Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.

Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina announced that he will participate in a Peace Walk on Wednesday to show support with the community. The event will take place at 5 p.m. at NW 15th Avenue and 69th Street.

Police said that Sunday's shootings occurred at NW 63rd Street and NW 13th Place.

Killed were 18-year-old Rickey Dixon and 17-year-old Kimson Green. The two men who suffered gunshot wounds had not been identified as of Monday afternoon. They were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.

"I really had an A1, A student," Green's mother, Dominique, told Local 10 News. "Where I live at is where I live at. That's all."

Parkland school shooting survivors Emma Gonzalez and Cameron Kasky tweeted their support for the Liberty City community on Monday.

"We gotta use this grief, take it in our hands and mold the future with it," Gonzalez said under the hashtag #LibertyStrong. "The best way to feel relief from pain is to prevent it from happening to anyone else. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere."

Kasky urged people not to let the media forget about Liberty City. "We must stand together," he penned. "We send our love to those affected and promise to continue fighting for change in all communities."

Carvalho said too often people have the wrong idea about which people are getting killed in the community.

"This was a tenth grader who had just made the National Honor Society, never got into trouble," the superintendent said of Green.

News reports said that the other two victims were also present or former Northwestern students.

"It appears that the four male victims were sitting down off of 13 Place and 63rd Street," explained Officer Kiara Delva of the Miami Police Department, who said that the victims were approached by multiple shooters. "I can't say two or three suspects walked up. But there's (a) belief that there is multiple shooters involved, more than just one."

Officer Michael Vega told Patch that the Peace Walk is meant to let residents know that the police department supports efforts to curb gun violence.

"We are joining with the community to walk the area there, to let them know that we care, that this needs to come to an end," Vega said.

The Miami-Dade Police Department and the Miami Police Department will also be conducting joint operations in response to the shootings in the Liberty Square complex.

"The ongoing joint operation establishes increased patrols to investigate and prevent violent criminal activity in the target area," according to city officials. "The City of Miami is committed to protecting the residents of this community."

Florida Gov. Rick Scott spoke with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez as well as Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez and offered assistance from state law enforcement agencies.

To report a tip, the Miami Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 305-603-6350. Alternatively, contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477), visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select “Give a Tip” or Send a text message to 274637 with "CSMD" followed by the tip information.

Photo courtesy Miami Police Department