Man, 15-year-old brother among victims injured in block party shooting

Christopher Smith, 24, says fatal shooting was 'a blur'

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – One of four people injured over the weekend in a shooting at a block party in Fort Lauderdale spoke to Local 10 News on Monday.

A fifth person, identified as Jerrod Bel Air, 22, was killed in the shooting.

For Christopher Smith, 24, the pain of being shot in the leg is nothing compared to the pain of losing his friend.

"It's crazy. It doesn't seem real," Smith said.

Smith, his 15-year-old brother and Bel Air were among the five people who were shot at about 1 a.m. Saturday at a block party near the 2300 block of Northwest 16th Court in Fort Lauderdale.

Smith said he was shot in his thigh and his brother was shot in the arm. The bullet went out of the teen's arm and got lodged in his back, his mother said.  

"It just all happened so fast. It's just like a blur," Smith said.

Smith and the other three surviving victims were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Bel Air died at the scene.

"(He was) a good man, (a) hardworking man, (who went) to work every morning. Even if you needed a job, he'd help you find a job," Smith said.

Tony Harden, 27, who was shot in the side and shoulder, spoke to Local 10 News over the weekend.

He too had only positive things to say about Bel Air.

"My dog was trying to become someone. He was trying to become the best he can be," Harden said. "They took a good man. That's all I can say."

Two days after the shooting, a homicide detective returned to the scene, looking for shell casings, a murder weapon and any clues that could lead to the killer.

The detective told Local 10 News that a fight on Northwest 16th Street led to the shooting. 

He said Bel Air was shot in a parking lot near houses. 

"At the end of the day, the cowards that did this, if the police don't take care of you, the Lord will," Smith's mother, Patrecia Dillon, said. "This is ridiculous. You guys need to put these guns down.  Now I have two injured children that could have been dead, and I have one godson that is dead. There's no words."

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.