MIAMI — A man described as a business owner and activist who advocated for the community’s youth was killed after a shooting on Friday night outside of his restaurant in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood.
Officer Michael Vega identified the victim on Saturday morning as 40-year-old Dwight C. Wells, who was playing dominoes with two others when he was shot. Wells started the “Wheels Up Guns Down” anti-violence demonstrations.
“The subject walked up to him and shot him,” Vega, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department, wrote in a statement on Saturday morning.
Police officers searched for a suspect after the shooting outside of the Winning and Won Turkey Legs, a popular BBQ spot at 5090 NW 17 Ave.
Police officers found Wells bleeding and unresponsive after a ShotSpotter alert shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Friday at 5030 NW 17 Ave.
Miami Fire Rescue personnel took Wells to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. Homicide detectives started an investigation after he died, according to Vega.
“The subject fled on foot,” Vega said.
Wells’s mother, Mary Brown, said she was proud of him for starting the Wheels Up Guns Down movement and for his passion during the years of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day demonstrations.
“My son was a pillar for this community. He would always give someone the shirt off his back,” Brown said. “I miss him, but he is with the Lord and I will see him in Heaven.”
Hours after the murder, people continued to drive by to pay their respects.
“My nephew did amazing stuff for the community,” Suzette Hester, his grieving aunt, said. “He didn’t deserve this!”
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.
Related stories
- Slain activist Dwight C. Wells started ‘Wheels Up Guns Down’ as anti-violence effort
- MLK Day Wheels Up Guns Down organizer aims to legitimize demonstration
- Wheels Up, Guns Down seeks safer rides and more efficient events
This is a developing story. Local 10 News Assignment Editor Wilson Louis and Joyce Grace Ortega contributed to this report.
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