11-year-old shot in Hallandale Beach McDonald’s parking lot remains hospitalized

Dora Belen Rivera was released from the hospital by July 4 and is recovering at home after being shot in the head in the parking lot of a Hallandale Beach McDonald’s at 835 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. The 11-year-old was hit during a June 27 shooting that also wounded her father, Oscar Roman Miron, and left the family’s two younger children unharmed.

Hallandale Beach police identified the suspect as 18-year-old Ralph N-Kosi Blue III. He was charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill after the shooting began outside the city and ended at the restaurant. Blue was arriving to work at McDonald’s when he fired at someone running toward him, and he was the only person who shot.

The case was targeted, and surveillance video showed Blue walking toward McDonald’s, looking behind him, then firing when another person got out of a parked car and ran toward him. A bullet hole was visible in the back window of the family’s SUV, and Dora Belen Rivera was conscious and alert after the shooting before later requiring surgery.

The family had just arrived when the violence broke out, and Rivera’s mother had gone inside to get food while the children stayed in the vehicle. Miron was shot in the hip and later released from the hospital. The other children in the SUV, ages 2 and 5, were not injured.

On July 3, Rivera and Miron spoke publicly for the first time at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, where Rivera was still in the ICU and expected to be discharged soon. Rivera said she felt like she had “another chance” and thanked Jesus, first responders, doctors and her parents. Her mother called it a very difficult moment.

The family is waiting for the police investigation to finish before deciding whether to pursue a civil lawsuit. Hallandale Beach police Chief Michel Michel called the arrest significant, but the investigation remained far from over and detectives were pursuing additional leads.