Police said the victims were innocent bystanders caught in gunfire tied to a parking lot altercation.
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL — Police were searching Sunday for a suspect after a father and his 11-year-old daughter were shot Saturday afternoon while sitting in a car outside a McDonald’s in Hallandale Beach.
The shooting drew a large police response to the restaurant at 835 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. and left detectives reviewing surveillance video, checking nearby homes and trying to identify who fired into the parking lot. Hallandale Beach police said the man and child were not involved in the dispute that led to the gunfire. Both were taken to a hospital in stable condition, and police said the girl was conscious and alert after she was shot.
Police said the family had just arrived at the restaurant Saturday afternoon when the girl’s mother went inside to pick up food. The father and daughter stayed in the vehicle while she was inside. Investigators said an altercation then broke out in the parking lot between other people. Gunfire followed, striking the father and child inside the car. “We had two innocent bystanders here injured due to an altercation that had nothing to do with them,” Hallandale Beach Police Capt. Megan Jones said. Police said the mother heard the shots, came outside and found her husband and daughter wounded.
Investigators said they believe the shooting may have been an attempted ambush aimed at someone else at the restaurant. Police had not released the suspect’s name or a detailed description by Sunday morning. Jones said investigators believe one of the people involved in the exchange of gunfire was a McDonald’s employee. Authorities had not said whether that person was the suspected shooter, an intended target or another participant in the dispute. Police also had not released the father’s name, the child’s name or the exact nature of their injuries. The girl was expected to undergo surgery, police said.
The shooting happened in a busy commercial stretch of West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, a main east-west road through the city. The McDonald’s sits near other businesses and parking lots where customers come and go through much of the day. Police tape blocked off the area after the shooting as officers and detectives moved through the scene. The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the Hallandale Beach Police Department was leading the investigation. Detectives remained focused on surveillance footage from the restaurant and nearby properties, along with any witness accounts from people who were in or near the parking lot.
No charges had been announced by Sunday morning. Police said the suspect remained at large as detectives worked to determine what started the altercation, who was armed and whether more than one person fired a weapon. Investigators were conducting a house-by-house search in the area after the shooting and were seeking video that could show the moments before and after the gunfire. Authorities had not announced any scheduled news conference or court proceeding. The next steps in the case include identifying the shooter, locating any weapon used and deciding whether criminal charges will be filed.
The shooting left a family trip for food turned into a crime scene. Police said the mother had gone into the restaurant for a routine pickup while her husband and daughter waited outside. Minutes later, she returned to find both wounded. Jones said the victims were caught in violence not meant for them, a point investigators repeated as they searched for the person who fled. Officers stayed at the restaurant for hours Saturday, working around marked patrol vehicles, crime scene tape and customers kept away from the lot as detectives gathered evidence.
The father and daughter remained hospitalized in stable condition as of the latest police update. The suspect had not been publicly identified, and the investigation was continuing Sunday, June 28.
Author note: Last updated June 28, 2026.