Teen killed in drive-by ‘really was a great kid’
A teen from Miramar decided to run to the store with a friend, and it cost him his life.
Mendell Butler-Lebel. 17, was eating dinner at home Monday night when he got a text asking if he wanted to tag along. He did, but by the time he got back to the parking lot of the Foxcroft Condominiums complex, at 3195 Foxcroft Road, bullets were flying.
He was struck in the back once and was pronounced dead at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Two men — a neighbor and the neighbor’s cousin — were also taken to the hospital with bullet wounds, police said. The friend who texted the original invitation was not hit by gunfire.
“My son was an innocent bystander,” said Omorose Butler. “It’s not right, absolutely not right.”
More than 100 grieving family and friends held a candlelight vigil Wednesday night, trying to make sense of the loss and begging the public for tips that will lead to an arrest in the fatal drive-by shooting.
“I just want someone to come for-
ward and do what’s right,” Omorose Butler said. “I hope [the shooter] feels some kind of remorse, or someone talks.”
The family is trying to raise extra reward money to add to the standard $3,000 offered by Broward Crime Stoppers for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest.
Butler-Lebel had a 3.7 grade point average at Miramar High School and was taking an honors course in criminal justice.
“I think he wanted to be a lawyer,” his mother said. “He went to the Broward County courthouse on field trips and would sit in [court proceedings].”
One witness described the shooter’s car as a teal green Honda that cruised through the parking lot before turning around, rolling down a window, and firing shots at the group.
Like most people in the area, aunt Myra Butler thought the gunshots were pre-Fourth of July fireworks until she heard a frantic knock at the front door and someone yell, “Please come, he’s shot!”
“I ran to him and tried to performed CPR,” she said. “It wasn’t enough, it just wasn’t enough.”
He celebrated his 17th birthday Sunday.
“Mendell really was a great kid,” Omorose Butler said. “I’m going to miss him so much.”
Miramar Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on the triple shooting to contact Broward Crime Stoppers anonymously at 954-493-8477 or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.