A police banner in the United States. (drawing) – JEFF DEAN / AFP
Police were actively seeking information on Tuesday about the murder of a 3-year-old who was shot and killed during his own birthday party in Florida. Little Elijah LaFrance was probably struck down by a stray bullet Saturday at the end of the party in the suburbs of Miami, when individuals “equipped with several semi-automatic weapons, including a rifle” opened fire on the house, then that his parents and other members of his family were “cleaning the garden,” police said.
The child “was taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries,” she said. The bounty for any information enabling the suspects to be arrested was raised to $ 15,000 on Monday. Elijah, who would be 4 years old in a few days, was celebrating his birthday with another child, according to his relatives quoted by local media. Videos from the birthday party show the toddlers having fun in the house pool, surrounded by colorful balloons.
“I am really devastated, I am disgusted”
The agents attended after sending an alert by the ShotSpotter system, an acoustic technology that can detect gunshots and which is installed in nearly a hundred American cities. A 21-year-old woman was also injured in the gunfire. The police found more than sixty cartridges on the spot.
“I am really devastated, I am disgusted,” said Alfredo Ramirez III, the Miami-Dade County Police Chief, promising to find the perpetrators of this crime. Firearms are very common in the United States and children, sometimes very young, are regularly victims.