MIAMI-DADE, Fla. — A woman has been arrested after she told police she "accidentally" shot her teenage daughter following an argument at a McDonald's in South Florida.
Just after 10 p.m. Friday, police responded to reports of the shooting at the fast food restaurant, located off Northwest 7th Avenue in Miami. Once they arrived, officers reportedly found the teenager with a gunshot wound to her left shoulder.
Melissa Valbrum, 32, was at the restaurant with her daughter and the teen's cousins. They ordered a Lyft and one person said she pointed outside to tell the rest of the group that the car had arrived. Valbrum's daughter said the person was pointing at her leading to a verbal argument inside the fast-food chain before continuing outside, according to the arrest affidavit.
Valbrum allegedly pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot and kill the three people she was with while pointing the gun at them. One of the victims said the Lyft drove off, and she heard a gunshot and saw the teen was shot.
The daughter told police that she was assaulted while sitting inside the back of the Lyft during an argument that started. She said that Valbrum then went to her car, grabbed a gun and came back.
The Lyft driver told police the mother was "extremely aggressive" and pointed the gun toward him and the passengers. He said he saw her reach inside the car and assault the teen.
Valbrum told police the gun was in her waistband during the argument and it fell, causing it to go off and shoot her daughter, according to the affidavit.
Police wrote that a phone video shows Valbrum with a gun in her hand knocking on the vehicle's rear passenger windows where the three victims were sitting.
Valbrum is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and culpable negligence inflicting personal injury.
