An 11-year-old girl sustained a gunshot wound to the head and her father to the hip when an 18-year-old McDonald's employee fired his weapon in a parking lot altercation. The incident occurred on Saturday, June 27, outside a McDonald's in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Dora Belen Rivera, the 11-year-old victim, was inside an SUV with her two younger siblings and father when the shooting took place. Her mother was inside the restaurant picking up food at the time. The family was not the intended target of the gunfire, according to NBC Miami.
The McDonald's employee, identified as Ralph N-Kosi Blue III, reportedly fired his weapon as someone ran toward him while he was arriving for his shift. Surveillance footage showed a man running up to Blue and then hiding on the other side of the SUV the family occupied. Blue is seen raising his gun and firing.
Following the incident, Rivera and her father were transported to a local hospital. Doctors performed surgery on Rivera, but were unable to remove the bullet, which remains in her head. She is recovering, and her father has since been released from the hospital. The two younger children in the vehicle were unharmed but traumatized.
Blue has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill. Reports indicate that individuals had come to the McDonald's looking for Blue two days prior to the shooting.
It is unclear if Blue is still employed by McDonald's. The family has established a GoFundMe page to help cover Rivera's medical expenses and support for her siblings, raising nearly $3,000. The page states that Rivera faces a long recovery period.