Teen arrested after shots fired on Miami Beach's Ocean Drive

Witness identifies person arrested

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with an exchange of gunfire early Tuesday on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach police said.

At about 12:53 a.m., witnesses said they saw Horace Bernard Butler and two other people shoot at a group of pedestrians who were crossing the road at Fifth Street and Ocean Drive, police said.  

The pedestrians returned fire, police said.

No one was hurt during the shooting. 

After the shooting, Butler and his friends fled to the 500 block of Ocean Court. 

Meanwhile, a Miami Beach crime-scene technician was on an unrelated call in the area and saw the vehicle fleeing, police said. 

A chase ensued during which an officer saw two firearms being tossed from the vehicle at different times, a police said. The firearms were recovered. 

Once the vehicle came to a stop, the six passengers got out and ran, police said.  

As police searched for the passengers, Miami police responded to a call about a person knocking on a door asking for help, police said. That person turned out to be Butler. 

After being read his rights,  Butler said he was in Miami Beach when when the shots were fired and had jumped into a vehicle with unknown occupants, according to an arrest report.

An officer was later able to identify Butler as one of the six people who jumped out of the vehicle. 

A witness, who said he was 5-10 feet from Butler  at the time of the shooting, later identified him to police, according to an arrest report, and said Butler  was the first to open fire. 

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. 

 


About the Authors:

Layron Livingston made the move from Ohio's Miami Valley to Miami, Florida, to join the Local 10 News team.