An 11-year-old girl and her father were injured after gunfire broke out in a McDonald’s parking lot in Hallandale Beach, Florida, during a confrontation between several individuals that extended into a busy commercial area where families were present.
Police said the victims, along with two younger children inside the same SUV, were not involved in the dispute and were struck while waiting for a food order.
The shooting occurred around 1:35 p.m. on June 27 outside the restaurant at 835 W. Hallandale Beach Boulevard, according to CBS 12.
According to investigators, an argument involving multiple people escalated into gunfire that moved into the parking lot near the restaurant entrance.
The area was active with customer traffic, and several vehicles were positioned near the front of the business, including the SUV carrying the family, which was parked in the vicinity as the confrontation developed nearby.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows two men moving toward each other near parked cars moments before the situation turned violent.
One of the individuals, identified by authorities as 18-year-old Ralph N-Kosi Blue III, appears to react as the other man advances.
Blue then draws a firearm, and the confrontation shifts into a shooting that spreads across multiple lanes of the parking lot, with rounds striking toward nearby vehicles, including the SUV occupied by the family.
Investigators and police said Blue was employed at the McDonald’s location and was arriving for a scheduled shift when the confrontation began, according to WSVN.
They said the dispute originated outside Hallandale Beach before continuing onto the restaurant property, where it unfolded in a crowded public setting.
Only one person is confirmed to have fired a weapon during the incident, while another individual involved fled on foot as shots were fired across the lot.
The gunfire struck the 11-year-old in the head and her father in the hip. Both were transported to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.
The father was later released after receiving care, while the child remains hospitalized in stable condition and is recovering in intensive care.
Two additional children, ages 2 and 5, were also inside the SUV at the time but were not physically injured.
Investigators arrested Blue shortly after the shooting. He faces two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault.
Detectives said the motive has not been publicly disclosed, though they believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute involving Blue and other individuals connected to the broader confrontation.
Officials have not said what prompted the initial argument or how the individuals involved were connected.
The McDonald’s owner confirmed Blue is no longer employed at the restaurant following the incident and added that the restaurant is “devastated by the shooting.”
In the hours and days after the shooting, detectives continued working to identify additional individuals tied to the initial confrontation and reconstruct how the dispute escalated from an off-site interaction into a crowded commercial parking lot.
Investigators have reviewed surveillance footage, witness accounts, and physical evidence as they work to establish a precise timeline of events leading up to the gunfire.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact Hallandale Beach Police or Broward Crime Stoppers.
Police emphasized that the family had no connection to the dispute and were innocent bystanders struck during the incident.
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