Mom arrested after telling police she accidentally shot teen daughter following argument at Miami-Dade McDonald's
MIAMI — A woman was arrested Friday night after she told police that she had accidentally shot her teenage daughter following an argument at a Miami-Dade County McDonald's.
Melissa Valbrum, 32, was arrested after the incident and is facing three charges: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery and culpable negligence inflicting personal injury.
Just after 10:10 p.m., officers were called out to the fast food restaurant at 9250 NW 7th Ave. in Pinewood regarding "a dispute where a firearm accidentally discharged" by a woman and struck her 15-year-old daughter in her left shoulder, Miami-Dade Police told CBS News Miami.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue then took the teen to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center, where she is in stable condition.
According to the arrest affidavit, the teen, her two adult cousins and another juvenile were inside the McDonald's with Valbrum at the time of the incident.
The first cousin told police she pointed outside to let the teen and second cousin know that their Lyft ride had arrived at which point, the teen advised her mother Valbrum that the first cousin was pointing at her, leading to a verbal dispute inside of the restaurant amongst the group before continuing outside while the teen and her two cousins were inside the Lyft.
At this moment, Valbrum allegedly pulled out a gun and began threatening to "shoot and kill" all three of them while pointing the firearm in their direction, the affidavit stated.
The second cousin then told police that Valbrum allegedly became violent toward her, the teen and the first cousin due to "a misunderstanding as to why her cousin pointed in her direction," the affidavit stated. The second cousin also told police that Valbrum had allegedly pointed a gun at them while threatening to shoot and kill them. During the argument, the second cousin said she allegedly grabbed the second juvenile to remove the teen off of her when the Lyft drove off. Shortly after, she heard a gunshot and saw the teen had been shot, the affidavit stated.
When police spoke with the second juvenile, she said she was assaulted while sitting inside the Lyft and that the argument had begun when the first cousin pointed toward the vehicle, causing Valbrum to believe she was pointing at her. The second juvenile told police that Valbrum then went to her car to grab a gun and return to them, banging on the Lyft's window and threatening to shoot and kill them, the affidavit stated.
Police then spoke with the Lyft driver, who said Valbrum was allegedly acting "extremely aggressive" while pointing a gun at him, the second juvenile and the cousins. He also told police that he allegedly Valbrum reached inside his car and assaulted the second juvenile.
After being read her Miranda rights, Valbrum told police that her gun was on her waistband during the incident and it had "accidentally fell," causing it to go off and shoot her daughter, the affidavit stated.
The affidavit also noted that police had watched surveillance and phone video of the incident that showed Valbrum with a gun in her hand while knocking on the rear passenger window of the Lyft. CBS News Miami is attempting to obtain the video.
After further investigation, Valbrum was taken and booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
