MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The teenager shot after a brawl broke out near Miami Norland Senior High School on Tuesday is Carlton Bridges, students tell Local 10 News.
The fight about a block from the Miami Gardens school was captured on cell phone video. A number of teens could be seen throwing fists and even bodyslamming each other before the gunfire erupted.
A day later, students say they couldn’t believe that the 16-year-old Bridges was shot, saying “he’s a quiet child” and “he’s not really into all that bad stuff.”
Bridges was believed to have been shot in his back before he ran to a home’s backyard and was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition. He was since upgraded to stable condition.
The school was briefly placed on lockdown Tuesday, and law enforcement had an increased presence on the campus Wednesday.
Alberto Carvalho, the outgoing Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent, weighed in on the afterschool chaos, saying: “It’s kids who really are overreacting. They are not being able to control or regulate their emotions, and they very quickly default to negative behavior.”
Miami Gardens police are looking for witnesses to come forward and identify the shooter who was believed to be last seen fleeing in a dark blue Hyundai Elantra missing its rear bumper.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.