MIAMI – Miami police are investigating after a man was shot and killed early Friday morning in Little Haiti.
Police said Michael Antoine Jackson, 36, was walking home from a grocery store just after midnight when he was shot and killed outside of his apartment on Northwest Second Avenue and 68th Terrace.
Jackson was a father of nine. Family members told Local 10 News that he lived in the second-floor apartment with some of his children, including two sets of twins, his girlfriend and his father.
Grant Jackson Jr. described his son as a dedicated father and a family man.
"I love him. He was my baby," Jackson Jr. said. "He was 36 years old, but he was my baby."
Family members said they were inside the apartment when they heard the gun shots. Ternanice Davis, the mother of four of the children, said she jumped on top of the children to protect them when she heard the shots go off.
Davis said she is stunned and heartbroken.
"He was a great dad. He was a great man," Davis said. "I just don't understand why this had to happen to him."
Relatives said Jackson grew up in the neighborhood and attended Miami Edison Senior High School. They said their mission now is to make sure he's remembered for the man he was and not as the victim of a violent crime.
Miami police were on the scene well into the day light hours. The motive behind the shooting is not yet known, but police are asking the community for help as they continue their investigation.
"He's got a large family that he's leaving behind. This is just another sad reality of gun violence, and we need to put this to an end," Miami police Sgt. Freddie Cruz said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
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