Boy, 8, shot dead walking home

Killing is latest in wave of violence to hit Dania Beach

“Someone out there knows something and we need them to come forward.” Veda Coleman-Wright, Broward Sheriff ’s Office

DANIA BEACH — Rasheed Cunningham Jr. would have turned 9 on Jan. 9. Instead, while walking home from a cousin’s birthday party in Dania Beach on Wednesday night, he was killed by a gunman who was still on the loose Thursday.

Rasheed was walking with a group of kids, his aunt and his cousin when the shooting broke out just a couple of houses down from his grandparents’ home in the 200 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue. His cousin, Brandon Cunningham, shielded as many children as he could from the bullets, Rasheed’s grandfather, Rodney Daughtry, said.

“There was a whole group of kids walking,” Daughtry said. “[Brandon Cunningham] was shot nine times when he tried to cover up the rest of the kids.”

Mayor Tamara James issued a news release expressing shock at the wave of violence that has hit the city

this week. Four shootings have left two people dead and several others wounded. James offered support for the survivors and asked the community to pray.

Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said Wednesday night: “The shooting needs to stop. A child is dead. Our detectives have been working around the clock trying to put this together, get information, evidence, sworn statements.

“People should be allowed to be outside in front of their home . ... Children should be allowed to go outside and play.”

Three of the four shootings might be related, detectives said.

Sunday night, Christopher Jordan, 25, who lives in the city, was shot several times while walking home shortly after 8 p.m. near Northwest Sixth Avenue and Northwest Second Street, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Jordan died at Broward Health Medical Center, according to the agency, which did not give a reason why he might have been targeted. No arrests have been made in that incident.

Jordan’s mother, Sharon Grace, said her son was a humble, respectful young man who had never been in trouble.

“He had no enemies, so I don’t know, why would someone take my baby away from me? They took a part of me,” she said Thursday. “It’s sad for us to be like this. The violence needs to stop.”

The shootings that happened Sunday and Wednesday nights were in a neighborhood west of South Federal Highway and south of Old Griffin Road. Gunfire that injured a bystander Tuesday night happened south of Stirling Road.

Monday, there was a robbery and shooting unrelated to the other deaths, Coleman-Wright said.

Tuesday, there was gunfire in the 300 block of Phippen Waiters Road around 9:30 p.m. A man who was not the intended target was shot but survived, she said.

Rasheed died Wednesday at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. A young girl was taken to the same hospital with an injury to her arm, Coleman-Wright said.

Brandon Cunningham was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. He remains hospitalized, Daughtry said.

An aunt, who Daughtry identified as Teresa Greggs, was also wounded. She was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she remains hospitalized, Daughtry said.

Rasheed’s grandmother arrived at the crime scene Wednesday night and ran past the yellow crime scene tape, then collapsed in grief. She was stopped by deputies and carried away by friends and neighbors.

On Thursday afternoon, Caprice Cunningham sat on the sidewalk beside her grandson’s memorial. She picked up Rasheed’s framed photograph — propped among several stuffed animals — and hugged it while crying.

Pastors from the community gathered with friends and neighbors in front of Rasheed’s home Thursday to pray for the families who have been affected by the shootings.

J.C. Howard, senior pastor at St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church in Dania Beach, consoled Grace and Rasheed’s father, Rasheed Cunningham Sr., during the prayer circle in the middle of Northwest Ninth Avenue.

“We need justice and we need God healing on both sides of the fence. We need your healing, oh God, and only you can bring the healing that this father needs. Only you can bring the healing that this mother needs,” Howard said.

The Sheriff’s Office has increased the number of deputies patrolling the neighborhood, ColemanWright said.

Detectives say the shooter or shooters are targeting specific people.

“Someone out there knows something and we need them to come forward,” Coleman-Wright said. “We need sworn statements...we know that someone out there has correct information that would help our investigators get what they need so that they can make an arrest in these cases.”

Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Broward Sheriff’s Office at 954-764-4357 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips and will pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

“We need justice and we need God healing on both sides of the fence. We need your healing, oh God, and only you can bring the healing that this father needs.” J.C. Howard, senior pastor at St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church in Dania Beach, about Rasheed Cunningham Sr., above, father of Rasheed Cunningham Jr., left

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Caprice Cunningham grieves where her grandson Rasheed was killed Wednesday night after his cousin’s birthday party at her house in Dania Beach. Rasheed, 8, was walking along with family members when several shots rang out.

Sharon Grace, whose son, Christopher Jordan, was killed on Christmas day in Dania Beach, is comforted by pastor J.C. Howard at a vigil Thursday for Rasheed Cunningham Jr., who was gunned down nearby.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Pastor Paul Wiggins of Greater Mount Zion AME Church prays with Rasheed Cunningham Sr., during a vigil Thursday for his son Rasheed, who was killed Wednesday near his grandmother’s house in Dania Beach.