MIAMI — Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the gunman responsible for a Little Haiti shooting this weekend, killing a father of three and leaving another man “fighting for his life” in the hospital.
Just before 1 a.m. Friday, Miami Police were called out to two ShotSpotter alerts near Northeast 1st Avenue and 77th Street, where they found two men who were shot. One of them, 35-year-old Robin Fernandez, died at the scene.
The second man, 32-year-old David Pichinte, was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Liz Ortiz, Pichinte’s wife, told CBS News Miami that her husband is “fighting for his life” as one of the bullets penetrated his organs and their three children are suffering.
Surveillance video captured the sound of gunfire and the terrifying moments when several men ran away from a gunman near the home. Fernandez, who is also a father of three, was killed by the suspect, who “popped out of nowhere” as relatives were talking outside their home, said witness Marlon Castro.
“He made a hand gesture, hinting he was looking for alcohol, but we were not drinking and had no cash,” he said.
That was when the shooter pulled out a gun.
“The gunman went crazy and started chasing us all around the building,” Castro told CBS News Miami. “He then started shooting — Fernandez was shot six times.”
Castro, who is also Pichinte’s brother-in-law, told CBS News Miami that Pichinte tried to take the gun away from the shooter but he fell and while on the ground, he was shot.
Pichinte was transported to the hospital, where he remains critically injured.
“We don’t know anything about the gunman,” Castro told CBS News Miami, but described the shooter to be a “young man.”
According to Fernandez’s relatives, he has two children in the U.S. and another in El Salvador, where they intend to send back his body. Both families are asking for justice to be served.
Both men were said to be construction workers and hardworking individuals who spent their time with loved ones.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
