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Miami Gardens Police Increase Security Details In Wake Of Recent Shootings

MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) - Miami Gardens Police will participate in extra security details in response to a rash of recent shootings, Mayor Oliver Gilbert confirmed Wednesday.

To that end, a Mobile Command Center was set up Wednesday night at NW 207  St near NW 27 Ave. as officers patrolled city streets looking for law violators.

In the last 11 days, 10 people have been shot in Miami Gardens, including a girl who was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital Wednesday evening.

One man who has dealt with the consequences of gun violence first hand said things need to change.

"We're living war zone," Glenn Forshee said. "There's a shooting almost everyday."

Forshee's 12-year-old daughter, Tequila, was killed in August when she was struck by a bullet inside a home where she was getting her hair braided for school.

Her killer has not been caught.

"It's innocent people. Bullets don't have names on them. They don't have eyes, they don't have nothing," Forshee explained.

On Tuesday, two people were found shot inside a car at the Cedar Grove Apartment complex, not far from where police were forced to shoot a man who fired at officers the night before.

A 19-year-old was gunned down outside his Miami Gardens home early Monday morning.

"It's horrific. It's horrific," Mayor Oliver Gilbert said. "What you see out here is in some way a response to that. We've had some success deterring crime, but as of late, we've had a rash of shootings."

Gilbert said the police department is increasing security details and instituting a "zero tolerance" policy through the end of the year.

"What we're doing for immediate response is making it very uncomfortable for people to leave their house with guns," Gilbert said.

On Wednesday night, in an empty lot near two of the more recent crime scenes, cops set up their mobile command center.

By 9 p.m., at least 10 arrests had been made, Gilbert said.

"The line is zero tolerance," Gilbert emphasized. "So if you break a law, you're going to jail."

For the Forshee family, this is a step in the right direction, but it won't be enough to make the city safe again.

"We're a long ways right now. A lot more needs to be done," Glenn Forshee told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.

Mayor Gilbert said officers will be paid overtime for working the security details.

Anyone with information that could help in a police investigation should contact Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at 35-471-TIPS (8477).

You can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward.

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