Police found Mike Menard, 32, dead outside his family’s home after an early morning ShotSpotter alert.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — A 32-year-old father was shot and killed early Wednesday while sitting in a car outside his family’s home in Fort Lauderdale’s Lauderdale Manors neighborhood, police and relatives said.
The killing brought homicide detectives to the 1300 block of Northwest 13th Court before sunrise and left the victim’s family asking why he went outside moments before the gunfire. Police had not announced an arrest by Wednesday afternoon, and investigators were reviewing surveillance video, physical evidence and the victim’s phone as they searched for the shooter.
Fort Lauderdale police said officers were sent to the area shortly before 4:30 a.m. after a ShotSpotter alert reported gunfire near Northwest 13th Court, off Northwest 15th Avenue and east of Interstate 95. Officers canvassed the street and found a man with a gunshot wound inside a vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Relatives identified him as Mike Menard, a Fort Lauderdale resident and father of a 5-year-old girl. His father said the family was inside the home when the shots rang out. “Very devastating,” Philippe Menard said. “I try to be strong.”
Surveillance video from the neighborhood showed Menard taking out the trash and then walking through a gate toward a white sedan parked outside the home. Video from another angle showed a person running toward the car with a gun before shots were fired, according to local reports. A nearby camera captured the sound of several gunshots, followed by the shooter running away and leaving in another car. Police did not immediately release a description of the gunman or the vehicle. Cameras at the scene showed bullet holes in the driver’s side window, bullet casings near the car and at least two other vehicles damaged by gunfire.
The shooting shook neighbors awake before dawn. One neighbor, Nevaeh Brown, said the gunfire sounded close and left people afraid to move around their homes. Another woman who lives nearby said she heard three shots around 4 a.m. and later saw a large police presence outside. Detectives shut down part of Northwest 13th Court as crime scene investigators photographed the area and searched the ground for evidence. K-9 units were also seen at the scene after daybreak. Menard’s body was later removed by the medical examiner, and the car was towed away as investigators continued processing evidence.
Menard’s father said the family had already been alarmed by trouble at the home in the days before the shooting. He said someone set fire to plants or a tree at the property last week, and days later, shots were fired at the house. He said police came after that earlier gunfire, took pictures and documented the damage. It was not clear Wednesday whether detectives believe those incidents are connected to Menard’s killing. The family said the unknown link between the earlier targeting and Wednesday’s fatal shooting is now a key question in the case.
Relatives described Menard as a father, a college graduate and the first in his family to reach that level of education. His father said Menard was born in Haiti and moved to the United States as a toddler with his family. He said his son had a bright future but had recently gotten involved with the wrong crowd. “He was the only guy in my family to reach that level,” his father said, speaking through tears. The family said detectives were given Menard’s phone as they tried to determine what made him go outside so early in the morning.
The investigation remained active Wednesday afternoon. Police had not said what led to the shooting, whether Menard was targeted or how many people may have been involved. Fort Lauderdale police asked anyone with information to contact detectives or Broward County Crime Stoppers. A reward of up to $5,000 may be available through Crime Stoppers for information that helps investigators find the shooter.
By Wednesday afternoon, detectives were still seeking the gunman, and the Menard family was waiting for answers about the moments before the 4:30 a.m. shooting.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.