A community is mourning after Miami restaurant owner and activist Dwight Wells was gunned down in front of his business on Friday night.
People stood by Wells’ restaurant Winning And Won Turkey Legs on 5090 NW 17th Ave. throughout Saturday, watching a mobile billboard with pictures and memories of the man they knew as “Screamer.”
The restaurant Wells owned was just one of his passions. He is famously known for creating the movement “Bikes Up, Guns Down,” with loved ones telling CBS News Miami that the shooter took away a “Liberty City pioneer.”
Dozens of kids on bikes pulled up to the area where Wells was shot to remember the 40-year-old founder of “Bikes Up, Guns Down,” a community movement focused on ending gun violence.
“One time for Screamer — bikes up, guns down, bikes up, guns down,” the bikers chanted.
Wells’ brother Quinton told CBS News Miami that he lived to make a change in Liberty City.
“[Dwight] decided to sacrifice his life and be right here in a community that he was raised in and give back to his community to build it up,” he said.
Tawana Aikens, a community activist, told CBS News Miami that she respected what Wells did for the community youth.
“I didn’t agree with riding the bikes in the streets, but the organized way of doing things when he was teaching them the tricks and everything on the bike — that’s what I loved about him,” Aikens said.
The community activist was shot and killed while playing dominoes outside his restaurant
Right after 9:20 p.m. Friday, Wells was playing dominoes with two other people outside his restaurant when someone shot him, City of Miami Police said.
Surveillance video obtained by CBS News Miami from the business next door showed people running in different directions as Well fell to the ground. According to police, the shooter ran away from the scene.
Wells was taken to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Wells’ legacy will live on through “Bikes Up, Guns Down,” community members say
People told CBS News Miami that while Wells is no longer here with them physically, his legacy will live through the movement he built.
“He was the father figure for so many different kids with ‘Bikes Up, Guns Down,'” Quinton said. “So many kids come to my brother for advice.”
Wells, who spent time in prison, turned his life around upon his release. He fought to help kids in his community to stay out of trouble.
“We need more turnaround stories like this because our kids need to see that no matter what your past was, you could always have a brighter future,” Aikens said.
Throughout Saturday night, biker after biker rode past, speaking to the impact Wells had on the community.
Miami Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
