Kamani Brown, 15, suffered serious injuries in the early-morning shooting, while police continue investigating and have not announced an arrest.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — The mother of a 15-year-old girl seriously injured in a shooting outside her Fort Lauderdale home says her daughter’s 16-year-old ex-boyfriend had threatened the teen before allegedly opening fire early Saturday.
Kamani Brown remained hospitalized Sunday after being wounded during the shooting, which Fort Lauderdale police said happened about 3:45 a.m. Saturday in the 1700 block of Northwest Ninth Street. Police have confirmed that Brown is expected to survive, but investigators have not publicly identified a suspect or announced an arrest.
Brown’s mother, Kahadeja McCray, told Local 10 News that her daughter had been inside the home with a friend before the shooting. McCray said Brown’s ex-boyfriend had been threatening her by phone and had told her, “If I can’t have you, nobody will.” McCray alleged that the ex-boyfriend later arrived at the home with another person. Police had not publicly confirmed that account as of Sunday.
McCray said she heard gunfire outside but initially did not know whether her daughter had been outdoors. Brown then came into the home and told her mother she had been shot. McCray said a bullet struck Brown in the arm and damaged an artery, causing significant blood loss. A friend who was with Brown applied pressure to the injury while emergency help was summoned.
Fort Lauderdale police said officers responding to the shooting found the injured teenager and began providing aid until Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue arrived. Brown was taken as a trauma alert to Broward Health Medical Center with serious injuries. Police later said she was expected to survive.
Earlier reporting from the scene showed that Brown’s family believed she had been deliberately targeted by someone she knew. Her grandmother initially described the person as a friend or former friend. In a later interview, McCray specifically alleged that Brown’s ex-boyfriend was responsible. Those claims remain family accounts, and authorities have not publicly identified the shooter.
McCray said she wants the person responsible to be arrested and questioned how someone so young could decide to shoot at another person. Brown’s family, including her mother, brother and grandmother, has remained with her as she recovers. Her grandmother, Cynthia Husband, said the family has been praying for the teenager and is grateful that she survived.
The shooting was one of two gunfire investigations Fort Lauderdale police handled within about two hours early Saturday. At approximately 1:51 a.m., officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the 1600 block of Northwest Eighth Avenue, where a man was found fatally shot. Police have said there is no known connection between that homicide and the shooting that injured Brown.
Investigators have said they are working to determine the circumstances surrounding Brown’s shooting. As of Sunday, police had not publicly released suspect information, announced criminal charges or confirmed McCray’s allegation about her daughter’s ex-boyfriend. Local 10 reported that the department had not provided an additional update in response to its request by publication time.
Author note: Last updated August 30, 2026.