She was sitting in her grandmother’s lap when a barrage of bullets came through the walls of the Miami Gardens home and ended a young South Florida girl’s life. Who did it? What one detective calls “domestic terrorists,” and to catch them, police are making a very interesting offer. Here is tonight’s Out for Justice with Patrick Fraser.
WSVN — It brings back wonderful memories for many people, sitting with your grandmother, feeling secure, loved, happy.
Shanae Forshee: “Tequila was a very lovable child.”
Twelve-year-old Tequila Forshee was sitting her in grandmother’s lap, getting her hair braided.
Shanae Forshee: “Tequila, her spirit, she was just a very helping, loving, bright, bright young girl, very full of personality and excitement.”
And then…
Miami Gardens Police Detective Steve Parr: “There was multiple gunshots fired into the house by at least three subjects, and the gunshots struck the grandmother in the leg. She was shot, and Tequila was mortally wounded.”
The middle school student was dead. Detective Parr won’t forget that night.
Detective Steve Parr: “It’s a very sad thing when you see a totally innocent person lying dead on the living room floor. It’s terrible.”
Detective Parr is saddened, and he is upset because he knows the identity of the killers who fired into the house. Glenn says it’s obvious why they were there.
Glenn Forshee: “Some kids on bikes approached the house waiting for her uncle, who was maybe 15 or 16 at the time. He lived inside the home and he was involved in some gang activity.”
When the uncle didn’t show up, the three teenagers looked through the window where Tequila was getting her hair braided and decided someone was going to die.
Detective Steve Parr: “And they figure, if they actually hit somebody, if it’s a relative of the target, and usually the target is another young male, if they happen to hit his mother or his sister and shoot and kill them, it doesn’t matter they’ve accomplished what they wanted, because it’s basic terrorism. It’s a form of domestic terrorism where they terrorize a house or a neighborhood.”
Glenn says you can’t imagine what it’s like knowing who probably killed your daughter.
Glenn Forshee: “I have to go to the corner store all the time and see people that’s possible suspects of my daughter’s murder right there in my face.”
A lot of people in Miami Gardens know who fired into the house and killed Tequila, and the three suspects know they know.
Glenn Forshee: “Their confidence is growing every day. They feel like they’re smarter than the police, they’re not going to get caught.”
People know, but the problem: People won’t talk.
Detective Steve Parr: “There are certain people that we have talked to in the past that have first-hand knowledge that could help us, but they’re afraid.”
But Miami Gardens Police don’t want these teenagers to get away with a horrible murder. So they told us, if someone steps forward, police will protect them. Relocate them, pay their moving expenses and rent. On top of that, you get the $30,000 reward, and show the teenagers they are wrong, they can’t get away with murdering a little girl who was sitting in her grandmother’s lap.
Detective Steve Parr: “We just need a little something extra. We need somebody to sit down with us and say, ‘I heard them say this, I saw them do that.’ We need somebody who’s had personal contact with these men to actually step forward.”
Glenn says it’s time for the people in Miami Gardens to say, enough.
Glenn Forshee: “We got to clean up our community, starting with murders such as my daughter Tequila. We got to get these guys off the street, because it’s only a matter of time before they pick up a gun again and somebody else is innocently shot.”
Detective Parr can’t get a picture out of his mind of walking in and seeing little Tequila laying on the floor, dead.
Detective Steve Parr: “We don’t show the crime scene pictures, but if we were able to show the crime scene pictures, this community would be in an uproar over this.”
So, if you know who killed this beautiful little girl, isn’t it time you did something about it? If you want to move and collect a big reward, now is the time to do it. Pick up the phone and give Detective Parr what he needs to put three cold-blooded killers out of Miami Gardens.
And if you have lost a loved one and want to remind people you are still out for justice, give us a call. With this Out for Justice, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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