Mother ‘terrified’ by shooting
“When I heard gunshots, the first thing I did was grab my baby.”
PEMBROKEPARK— Soon afterTashira Richardson moved into an apartment in a three-story complex called Condado Real last July, she realized her new homewas far from perfect for a family with three children and another on theway.
But Richardson, 25, had no idea just how risky life could be in the 5100 block of Southwest 41st Street until just before 10 p.m. Monday when Broward Sheriff’s detectives said gunmen raked the front of the worn condominium building with bullets.
Thegunfire narrowly missed Richardson and her four sleeping children, who range in age fromfour months to 8 years old, and injured a woman in an apartment directly below Richardson’s unit. The woman, who has not been identified, was at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, investigators said.
She had “injuries to her right shoulder and right hand,” according to a sheriff’s department press release.
Detectives are looking for two men who fled in a blackHonda Civic, deputies said.
“This has terrified us,” said Richardson, whoonTuesdaywassweepingupshattered glass in her second-floor unit and hoping to find another place to stay. “I do notwant to be here anymore.”
The Condado Real is surrounded by parking lots. The swimming pool is empty. “There is no place for the children to play here,” said Richardson. Tashira Richardson, mother of four whose apartment building was shot up by gunmen
In 2015, Broward Sheriff’s deputies recorded 86 calls for services at the apartment complex for incidents that ranged from shootings and burglaries to domestic abuse.
Richardson, who works as a cashier at a clothing store, said she had put her children to bed and had just gotten out of the shower when the gunfire began.
A deputy from the sheriff’s Pembroke Park district was patrolling the area when he heard gunfire, according to sheriff’s department spokeswoman Joy Oglesby. That deputy responded to the apartment complex along with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and sheriff’s crime scene detectives, Oglesby said.
Detectives discovered bullets had hit three occupied apartments and an empty vehicle, Oglesby said.
“When I heard gunshots, the first thing I didwas grabmy baby,” Richardson said. She took her infant daughter Dasia into a back bedroom, where her 8-year-old daughter Dashara was asleep with her brother Daniel, 2. Dazaira, 5, was in another room, she said.
At least two bullets penetrated the wall just inches from the heads of Dashara and Daniel.
Other bullets shattered the sliding glass door in Richardson’s bedroom and struck a door frame.
The outside of the building was also pockmarked with bullet holes, some of them onTuesday bearing investigators’ evidence stickers.
AHollywood native, Richardson said she moved into Condado Real after losing a lease on a previous residence in Miramar and had to find a new home in a hurry.
“This place was a worry from the start,” she said, “but I had to find something. Now the children are scared.”
The affected residents are with detectives, Oglesby said.
All Florida Management, of Pompano Beach, the firm that manages the property, did not respond to a message left on the office phone.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about this shooting to call Violent Crimes Det. Eric Rodriguez at 954-321-4224. Reports can also be made anonymously to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $3,000 for the anonymous tip that leads to an arrest.
Correspondent JimDonnelly contributed to this report.
mwclary@tribpub.com
cooperating