Miami-Dade County sheriff's deputies continued their search on Sunday for the killer of Nathan Bentley, an 18-year-old shot dead late Friday night outside a McDonald's restaurant in northwest Miami-Dade, as his mother appealed for answers about who took her son's life.
Source: WPLG Local 10
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, deputies responded on Friday to the fast-food restaurant in the area of Northwest 27th Avenue and Northwest 108th Street, where the teenager had been fatally shot during a dispute at the restaurant, the sheriff's office said.
A recent graduate, out for a football game
Bentley's mother identified him to Local 10 News. She said her son was a recent graduate of Hallandale High School and a student at Miami Dade College, and that he had been watching a football game with her at a field across the street from the restaurant shortly before the shooting.
In a later interview, she spoke of losing her 'firstborn son' and said the family is desperate for answers about who killed him and why.
Eight hours of work at the scene
Investigators spent about eight hours processing the scene outside the restaurant, Local 10 reported. During that work, a bystander brought a cellphone to the attention of investigators, who examined it as possible evidence. Bentley's car remained at the scene after the shooting and later had to be driven away.
No arrest, no motive released
By Sunday, the search for the shooter was in its second day and no arrest had been announced. The sheriff's office has not released a motive for the shooting or a description of a suspect. CBS Miami reported the same search, saying the sheriff's office is looking for the person responsible for fatally shooting the 18-year-old outside the fast-food restaurant.
Source: CBS Miami
Anyone with information about the shooting can call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Northwest 27th Avenue is one of Miami-Dade County's main north-south corridors, lined with restaurants and shops, and the McDonald's at 108th Street serves a busy stretch of northwest Miami-Dade. The killing has left a family that had spent Friday evening together at a football game facing a funeral instead.
What happens next: sheriff's homicide detectives are continuing the investigation, reviewing the evidence collected at the scene and following up tips. No court proceedings can begin until a suspect is identified and arrested. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the sheriff's office names a suspect or makes an arrest.