HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) – A teenager was killed after he came under fire in a Florida City neighborhood, police said.

7News cameras captured squad cars from Florida City and Homestead Police in the area of Northwest 13th Street and Sixth Avenue, at around 10:20 p.m., Saturday.

According to Florida City Police, officers arrived at the scene to find the 13-year-old victim in the rear yard of a home suffering from gunshot wounds.

Paramedics with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue airlifted the teen to Jackson South Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Back at the scene, officers cordoned off an entire block as they carry out their investigation. They appear to be focusing on a dark colored car, though it’s unclear how it’s related to the crime scene.

Area residents told 7News they started hearing gunshots before 8 p.m. They said the victim is a 13-year-old boy.

Miami-Dade Police’s Homicide Bureau has taken over the ongoing investigation.

Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Top-10 matchup in the regular season have been rare for the Florida Gators in program history. They’ll open SEC play this year with back-to-back games against top-10 teams, starting at No. 10 Kentucky (11-2).

Saturday’s matchup marks the 23rd time UF has been in a top-10 matchup, and only five have taken place in the regular season previously. It hasn’t happened since No. 8 Florida visited top-ranked Kentucky in 2012.

The Gators (13-0) have lost the last seven top-10 matchups they’ve been a part of, with their last win coming in 2007.

“This opportunity is incredibly exciting,” UF coach Todd Golden said of the SEC opener at Kentucky. “Two top-10 teams going at it first game of league play, and for us to get this opportunity in what we anticipate to be a really raucous environment, you know, I think will be a great challenge for us.

“We got a little bit of a taste of it in Charlotte. It wasn’t on Carolina’s home floor, but it was pretty close to a dominating North Carolina crowd. And we weathered the storm in that game. I think this one will be even more challenging, and I know our guys are excited to get out there, though, and give it a shot.”

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The matchup will feature a pair of top-10 scoring offenses. The Wildcats rank No. 3 nationally at 89.0 points per game and the Gators are ranked ninth in the country at 87.4 PPG.

Oklahoma transfer Otega Oweh leads Kentucky with 15.9 points per game and 20 steals. Also scoring double figures are Lamont Butler (13.3 ppg), Jaxson Robinson (11.9), Koby Brea (11.9), Andrew Carr (11.3) and Amari Williams (10.1).

When asked what kind of challenge UK poses offensively, Golden replied, “A big one.”

“They’re a top 10 offense. They’re very good offensively. I think this game is going to come down to two things for us on the defensive end. It’s going to come down to really having a great understanding of their personnel, knowing what each specific guy (does). They’re playing seven, maybe an eight-guy rotation right now, with Kriisa being hurt. So, knowing exactly what each of these guys is trying to do offensively is incredibly important, as well as executing our coverages.

“I think for Kentucky, it’s going to be really important for us to execute guarding them the way we want to guard,” Golden said. “And if we can do those two things for 40 minutes, we’ll be in good shape. But they are hard to guard, and they do some good things offensively, and they play through their bigs on the perimeter. They’re more, you know, four and five out. So again, just if we can execute and know our personnel, we’ll give ourselves a good chance.”

Williams also leads the Wildcats with 8.5 rebounds per game and 22 blocked shots, while Butler has a team-best 45 assists. Florida (No. 1) and Kentucky (No. 9) also rank in the top 10 nationally in rebounds per game, so the battle on the boards will be key.

The Gators won the last meeting in overtime on Kentucky’s floor, as Walter Clayton Jr. knocked in one of his seven 3-pointers with 3.0 seconds left in regulation and another to take the lead with 1:35 left in overtime.

UF is going for back-to-back wins at Kentucky on Saturday for just the third time in series history (2006/2007 and 1988/1989).

“Last year was special, just climbing back, getting into the game. We’re down, and then Walt hitting that big 3 to send us into overtime, and then just winning overtime was special,” Florida senior guard Will Richard said.

“That’s top level. Winning at Rupp is definitely big time. It’s a great environment. There’s a lot of history and tradition there. So, it’s always fun to go to Rupp. … I’m excited. I feel like we’re prepared. So, I’m ready to go.”

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – A Holly Hill woman not only lost her husband of 50 years and brother-in-law in a fire but also her livelihood.  

Just before Christmas Eve, a fire broke out in Deborah Blessing-Ortiz’s Holly Hill home. Her husband, Cesar, was sleeping in the back room and died in the blaze.  

“He was in the bedroom, and that’s where they found his body in the bed,” said Deborah. “They said he was burnt — 80% of his body was burned,” she continued with a heavy heart.  

Two brave neighbors were able to pull Deborah and her brother-in-law out of the home as it went up in flames. However, she says, her brother-in-law succumbed to his injuries days later. Neighbors tried to save Cesar too, but couldn’t.  

“Just to think of him yelling for help, and no one can help him. That hurts me,” said Deborah.  

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The home is a total loss as the flames destroyed everything inside, which left this elderly woman with not only a broken heart, but nowhere to go.  

“I thank God for his mercy. He’s given me a second chance. Now I got to find out what to do with it,” said Deborah.  

The 69-year-old woman is staying in a motel room now, as she has nowhere else to go. She’s been living on social security and now has to start from scratch, even needing a new ID and birth certificate.  

The family has now set up a GoFunMe donation page here if you’d like to help Deborah get back on her feet.  

She’s hoping the love of her life can help guide her through this pain.  

“I know he is looking down on me,” said Deborah. “He wants me to continue on, but he’s just going to have to tell me how.”  

Officials say the Fire Marshal is still investigating the cause of the fire.  

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