Group fires high-powered weapons in Miami Gardens neighborhood – NBC 6 South Florida

Heavy gunfire rocked a Miami Gardens neighborhood in the middle of the night on Wednesday, sending a hail of bullets through several cars, homes and windows as neighbors slept inside.

The ammunition ambush happened just after midnight in the 4200 block of 196th Street. Witnesses described at least five people with high-powered weapons waiting for a silver Nissan. As the Nissan approaches, the video shows the automatic firing begin and continue for 18 seconds.

Louis Rivera was sitting on the couch watching TV when the shots rang out. He said he could hear at least 50 gunshots.

“Look, at my age, man, I'm 68. I've been through hell and back, so that doesn't scare me,” he said. “What scares me is that they could get into my house, and they can have hurt some of my family members.

Rivera's wife and their 6-year-old daughter hid in a room, seeking cover. His little girl has just returned from cancer treatment in the hospital.

“When we came in she was in pain and crying. “She's a tough guy, but I mean, she was scared,” Rivera said. “She was crying, she didn’t know what was going on, but we were there for her.”

The shot-up Nissan crashed into Rivera's fence before the people in the car got out and ran. Rivera believed some of them went into his backyard and immediately armed themselves while calling 911.

“I had a gun right there on a tall cabinet, I got it because I saw the guy jump backwards,” Rivera said.

Police eventually showed up and discovered that the apartment complex looked like a war zone, with bullet holes in houses, windows, concrete and cars.

A neighbor, who did not want to be named, said he has lived in the area since 2017 and has never seen anything like this so close to home.

“There were about 50 or 60 bullets on the floor. “The truck was hit about 12 times,” he said. “We have to get on with our lives.” It’s normal. It is everywhere. It's Miami Beach, Brickell, it'll happen anywhere to be honest.

Police didn't reveal much about their investigation, but neighbors said the people in the silver car eventually returned – and police released them, saying they were victims.