An 11-year-old girl was shot in the head and her father was wounded while they waited with two younger children.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — A family’s weekend stop for food became a medical emergency when bullets tore into their vehicle outside a McDonald’s, striking an 11-year-old girl in the head and wounding her father as two younger children sat nearby, according to police and published reports.

The June 27 shooting left Dora Belen Rivera facing an uncertain recovery and her father, Oscar Roman Miron, recuperating at home after treatment for a gunshot wound to his hip. Hallandale Beach police said the family had no connection to the confrontation that brought armed violence into the restaurant parking lot. Investigators arrested Ralph N-Kosi Blue III, an 18-year-old employee who authorities said was reporting for work when the dispute reached the property. Jail records list two aggravated-battery charges and two aggravated-assault charges against him. The allegations have not been proven in court.

Miron had remained inside the family’s sport utility vehicle with the couple’s three children while his wife went into the restaurant to collect their order, according to accounts released after the shooting. The children were 11, 5 and 2. Police said the two younger children were not physically injured, though they were inside the vehicle when the shots were fired. The mother heard the gunfire and ran back outside, where she learned that her husband and oldest child had been hit. What began as a routine meal pickup had changed within seconds into a scene of panic, emergency treatment and a police search for those involved.

Police were called to the McDonald’s at 835 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. at about 1:35 p.m. Officers found the wounded father and daughter and began investigating what authorities first described as an altercation involving several people. Both victims were taken to a hospital. Miron was later released, while Rivera underwent surgery and remained under specialized care. A family fundraising page said doctors did not plan to remove the bullet from her head at that stage because doing so could cause additional harm. That medical assessment came from the family’s account and was not independently detailed by the hospital.

The child’s condition became the central concern for relatives and members of the community as investigators worked to reconstruct the gunfire. Rivera was reported in stable condition after surgery, but stable did not mean fully recovered. Her family said she faced continuing treatment and a long rehabilitation. Later coverage showed her communicating from the hospital and expressing gratitude to emergency workers and medical staff. Her public appearance offered evidence that she was alert and able to speak, while leaving major questions about her long-term health unanswered. No complete prognosis had been publicly released.

Surveillance footage provided investigators with a view of the moments before the shooting. Reports describing the video said Blue was walking toward the restaurant when another person left a vehicle and ran in his direction. Police allege that Blue drew a handgun and fired as the approaching person moved around or sought cover near the family’s SUV. The family’s vehicle stood between the confrontation’s participants, placing Miron and the children in the path of the gunfire. Authorities said Blue appeared to have been the only person who fired a weapon.

The footage also showed how an uninvolved vehicle could become part of a confrontation without its occupants having time to understand what was happening. Police said the incident was targeted and had begun outside Hallandale Beach before ending at the restaurant. Investigators did not accuse the family of taking part in the dispute. They repeatedly described Miron and Rivera as innocent bystanders. The identity of the other person seen approaching Blue was not publicly released in the initial reports, and authorities did not disclose the full nature of the earlier conflict.

Blue was taken into custody June 29 through a joint effort involving Hallandale Beach police and the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Police said the arrest occurred without incident in a neighboring jurisdiction. Broward County jail records identify him as Ralph Nkosi Blue III and show that he was born Sept. 23, 2007. The records list two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one aggravated-assault count described as involving intent to kill and another aggravated-assault count described as without intent to kill. All four charges were marked pending trial when the records were reviewed.

The jail listing showed no bond on the aggravated-battery counts and bonds of $1 million on each aggravated-assault count. A jail entry is not a finding of guilt, and the public record available for this report did not establish whether prosecutors had filed a later charging document changing or refining the allegations. It also was not clear from the material reviewed whether Blue had entered a plea or retained an attorney. Those procedural details are important because the police account describes an allegation, while the final legal judgment belongs to the courts.

The owner-operator of the McDonald’s said Blue was no longer employed by the organization after the shooting. In a statement reported by news outlets, the operator expressed concern for the father, daughter and their relatives and said the restaurant would cooperate with police, including by supplying surveillance footage. McDonald’s corporate representatives did not immediately provide a separate response in some of the earliest reports. The restaurant’s role in the case, based on the available evidence, was as the location where the confrontation ended and where one of the accused participants had worked.

For the Rivera-Miron family, the legal investigation was only one part of the aftermath. Miron was recovering from his own wound while his daughter remained under medical care. The two younger children escaped physical injury but witnessed the shooting from inside the same vehicle. The family’s fundraising appeal said they had been thrust into medical, emotional and financial strain through an incident in which they had no involvement. Public accounts did not identify the mother, protecting her privacy as the family managed the child’s treatment.

The case also left investigators with unresolved questions. Police had not publicly explained what started the earlier dispute, why the other person allegedly pursued Blue or what relationship existed among those involved. Authorities said the confrontation originated outside the city, suggesting that its history began before anyone reached the McDonald’s property. The available police statements did not assign a publicly confirmed motive, and they did not announce the arrest of the person seen running toward Blue. Reports that used terms such as ambush or targeted incident reflected investigators’ description of the confrontation, not a completed court finding.

Witnesses nearby described hearing shots and seeing a rapid police response, but the surveillance evidence and physical evidence from the SUV carried greater weight in the public account. A witness who worked in the area reported hearing someone scream. Another said the gunfire appeared to happen quickly before officers filled the area. Such accounts captured the confusion outside the restaurant, though they did not answer who had planned the encounter or what each participant intended. Detectives continued reviewing video and seeking additional information.

By July 26, Blue remained listed in the Broward County jail with the four charges pending trial. The latest reliable public reports reviewed for this article said Miron had been released from the hospital and Rivera was stable after surgery, with the bullet left in place because of the reported medical risk of removing it. No later official medical update or final court resolution was located. The criminal investigation and the child’s recovery therefore remained unfinished parts of a case that began with a family waiting for lunch.

Author note: Last updated July 26, 2026.