MIAMI — Bright pink, blue and green balloons hung from a party sign welcoming hundreds of young adults to the birthday celebration in Overtown Sunday night.
They sipped drinks and danced as the DJ spun rap music. The party spilled onto Northwest Fifth Avenue, where it looked more like a parade than a party.
Then the shooting started.
Bullets fired from high-powered weapons sprayed the crowd. Witnesses and police said the shooting, which began at about 12:45 a.m. Monday, lasted several minutes and stretched over several blocks as the shooters fled.
Twelve people were shot, three of them injured critically, police said. In addition, a woman was hit by a car as she tried to run.
Police believe the shooters — at least three men dressed in black — had a specific target, but would not say who it was. Miami Police Chief John Timoney said that person was not shot. He was interviewed by detectives Monday.
Police said they would not speculate on a motive for the shooting. By late Monday, no arrests had been made.
Friends said the party was to celebrate Lawrence Smith’s 20th birthday. He had advertised it on MySpace. People started arriving around 7 p.m., though the crowds weren’t large until later.
One of those injured was Michelle Coleman, 23, a business administration student at Florida A&M University, her family said.
“She’s not going to make it,” said her uncle, Larry Coleman, as he walked out of the Ryder Trauma Center on Monday morning.
Michelle was shot in the chest, kidney and liver, he said. Doctors told him her chances of survival were slim. Family members said another victim in critical condition was Anthony Smith, 17, a Booker T. Washington High School student and linebacker on its football team.
Willie Calhoun, 25, said he saw a man wearing a black hoodie partly wrapped around his face walking down the street. The man held an AK-47 assault rifle at his side for several minutes, as if he were looking for someone, Calhoun said.
“He turned and started shooting,” Calhoun said. Partygoers in the crowd pulled guns in response.
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