That widow spoke exclusively with 7News.

Alexia Benard’s world is now shattered.

“This man is my everything! My everything,” she said. “Just doesn’t make any sense.”

Her husband, Mike Benard, was murdered on Saturday in Northwest Miami-Dade.

“I have to re-figure out my entire life for me and my kids,” she said.

Days before Thanksgiving, 10-month-old Adrian and 6-year-old Alaia are now without a father.

The loving family man also enjoyed riding and even spoke to 7News about it two years ago.

“I try to ride as safe as possible,” he said.

7News was told that his passion was to fix anything with wheels, whether they be dirt bikes, ATV’s or cars. It was his life’s work as well, and he had his own mechanic business in his backyard. He would help friends fix cars and anybody who needed help with their vehicle.

Before he was shot, Mike was helping a friend fix a tire, not far from the scene where his life was taken.

After changing a tire, Benard and his friend got in their car and began to drive off when, police said, a man walked up and “The defendant immediately pointed the firearm at the driver window and discharged multiple shots into the vehicle.”

Mike was killed and his friend was critically injured.

Soon after, Alexia received a call.

“And I frantically ran out of Winn-Dixie, screaming,” she said,

According to detectives, Lekambrick Hanna shot the men and was then arrested.

They also said that the night earlier, Hanna stole a bus, ditched it in downtown Miami traffic and ran off, uncaught.

“He was on the run?!” Alexi said.

Shockingly, Hanna had also stolen a Miami-Dade Fire truck in May before being caught after a chase into Palm Beach County.

“Why is he out there to have done this to my husband?!” Alexia said,

A grieving wife now wants answers despite the pain she faces and the lives that were changed forever.

“I will always live for my husband. I will live for him and my children,” she said.

Alexia said her husband did not know the shooter and now has to arrange a funeral.

She set up a Gofundme page to help with expenses. If you’d like to donate, click here

Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora aims to re-enter local government, while Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner seeks to ascend to the mayoral role.

“I’ve been so focused on residents’ quality of life, law, and order being number one,” Meiner said.

“I wanna re-brand our city as one of arts and culture; I wanna make sure we have the police presence we need,” Gongora said.

The vacancy arose when current mayor Dan Gelber reached his term limit.

In the Nov. 7 election, only 242 votes separated the two candidates, each with multiple endorsements.

Recently, Meiner lost the endorsement of the Miami Herald, withdrawing support due to allegations of unwanted advances reported by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The advancements, according to the Herald, include that he “…allegedly tried to kiss a college-age SEC intern when they went out for dinner,” while another intern claimed, “…while she was at the SEC during law school about a decade ago, Meiner frequently texted her and made comments she saw as inappropriate.”

Meiner, responding to the allegations while campaigning at City Hall on Tuesday, stated, “No. No. No, but I’ve said that publicly, and it’s unfortunate that that’s what we’re dealing with.”

The Miami Herald also withdrew support for Gongora, citing incidents that “paint the picture of someone who seems willing to use his position in ways that harm public trust.”

According to the Herald, Gongora presented official city proclamations at private events, potentially giving the impression of city hall endorsement.

“You know, there are no rules about presenting these types of things,” Gongora said Tuesday. “We thought we were doing a nice thing by honoring businesses and people, but since I have a good record as an elected commissioner, people look for anything they can to try and attack you.”

Despite their differences, both candidates share a common focus on public safety.

“I’m ready to make sure we have more police out in the streets,” said Gongora.

“It’s not only police visibility, which is a big part of it, but it is making sure we prosecute our crimes,” Meiner said.

Polls close at 7 p.m.

The suspects, 19-year-old Travis Arratin Fernandez and 19-year-old Drequan Humes, were booked into Miami-Dade jail Tuesday morning with no bond.

The incident unfolded just after 10:30 a.m. on Monday in the area of NW 154th Street and 19th Avenue, where the officers were investigating another case.

The officer was in an unmarked red pickup truck surveilling the suspects in a group of men with guns outside a home. The officers approached and that’s when the men started shooting.

The bullet, bouncing off the officer’s bullet-proof vest, grazed him in the cheek.

“We’re just grateful he was wearing his vest and it helped protect his life,” said MDPD Director Stephanie Daniels.

Following the incident, the suspects fled the scene, prompting an extensive investigation by law enforcement.

In surveillance footage obtained by 7News, the sound of gunshots could be heard. Moments later, in another video, two men could be seen jumping a neighboring fence with a third man running towards the front door of a home.

Several seconds later, an officer could be seen on video searching for the suspects.

Hours after the search for the suspects began, surveillance video showed four men coming out of a home with their hands in the air after the Miami-Dade Special Response Team arrived at the scene.

At least five people were initially detained, including Fernandez and Humes.

The injured officer, who had been transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, was discharged Monday night after receiving medical attention.

Humes has also been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Authorities have not disclosed additional details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The officer who was shot was treated at the hospital and was released on Monday.

If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

Miami-Dade County remains waterlogged, with a neighborhood near Northeast 116th Street and 14th Avenue in North Miami still seeing ankle-deep water.

“When it starts flooding, it gets real crazy over here,” said area resident Kevin Jean-Baptiste.

“It’s too much,” said another resident.

Reports of cars submerged and towed away reveal the aftermath of the relentless rain and winds.

Speaking through a translator, a resident who identified herself as Esperanza said the situation is “horrible.” She said her children have not been able to go to school because of the standing water. She said the water is so dirty because of the garbage cans with bacteria and germs.

Jean-Baptiste said the flooding has caused plumbing problems.

“We can’t flush our toilet, take good showers or anything. It’s like really terrible right now,” he said.

Parts of Miami Gardens also face lingering flooding, with streets in the 2200 block of Northwest 170th Street still submerged. Picture sent in by a 7News viewer showed traffic barrels floating on the roadway.

Residents said that in some spots, the standing water is knee-deep.

Residents attribute the recurrent problem to drainage issues, expressing frustration and hoping for a swift resolution.

According to Miami-Dade County Public Works, one of the two pumps in Esperanza and Jean-Baptiste’s neighborhood failed Thursday morning, and crews are currently figuring out how to bring in more pumping power.

For Esperanza, that help can’t come soon enough.

“Bring people who can work on the pumps to get the water out. It’s not fair,” she said.

In Broward County, the situation is equally dire.

Despite considerable improvement in many flood zones over the past 24 hours, a neighborhood off Hiatus Road in Davie remains submerged, leaving residents frustrated.

“Very concerned. It’s only two days of rain and, as you can tell, it’s terrible,” said area resident Ingrid Korkkanem.

Korkkanem said she and her family are halfway through building their dream home, and she can barely come and go with all this standing water.

“I was hoping that they would do something by now, but not yet,” she said.

A homeowner who lives across the submerged street compared his property to an island surrounded by water.

“This is the fourth time this has happened,” he said.

He is unable to leave until the water goes down.

Korkkanem said the neighbors keep an eye on him.

“I think he has someone who comes and bring him supper. We always keep an eye on him,” she said.

The parking lot of a nearby Broward College campus remained flooded on Friday. Classes were canceled for a third consecutive day.

The aerial view from 7Skyforce showed flooded rural areas housing animals. A pasture that several farm animals call home now resembles a swamp. One camel, an animal that can go days without water, was seen wading across the flooded pasture.

The flooding remains a lingering and ongoing concern for residents.

“It’s just very scary and hard when you’re trying to just, you know,” said Korkkanem. “I mean, you work, you have to go to the store and things like that. It didn’t feel like a hurricane or a tropical storm, but it was windy and it was just steady, it didn’t stop raining.”

Despite sunny skies on Friday, parts of South Florida struggled to recover, highlighting the resilience needed to navigate the aftermath of the storm.

Back in North Miami, Jean-Baptiste got his scooter back after it was damaged by floodwaters. He’s hoping South Florida gets a much-needed break from the rain.

“‘Cause it’ll sprinkle for a couple of hours, and it’ll rise up,” he said. “It don’t matter, it just don’t matter. Once any type of rain comes, it starts flooding just like this, and it stays like this for a while.”

Miami-Dade Public Works officials did not give 7News a timeline when it comes to bringing relief to the North Miami neighborhood that is still dealing with flooded streets.

The relentless rainfall that battered South Florida all day Wednesday led Broward County Public Schools and Broward College to cancel classes on Thursday.

“Tomorrow we are expected to be open fully,” said Licata during a news conference. “We just got off the meeting with the regionals and the cabinet members. We are going to be fully open.”

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County Public Schools officials opted to keep their schools open on Thursday.

A cellphone video sent to 7News by a parent captured a roadway that resembled a river during their morning commute.

In Northwest Miami-Dade, students arrived at American Senior High School only to end up in the dark. The school remained without electricity all day.

Most students headed home, and those who did not show up at all won’t be counted absent.

“I think we got a big ‘w’ today. We made the right decision,” said Licata. “Some areas don’t flood, but a lot of areas do, and we want to make sure that when we make a decision, it impacts everyone; it’s going to be an equitable decision.”

During a press conference, Licata said that some schools in the county remain flooded.

Those schools include the following:

• C. Robert Markham Elementary School, located at 1501 NW 15th Ave
• Pompano Beach Middle, located 310 NE 6th St.
• North Side Elementary, located 120 NE 11th St.
• Piper High School, located 8000 NW 44th St.
• Northeast High School, located at 700 NE 56th St.
• Western High School, located at 1200 SW 136th Ave.

But even before the heaviest rains arrived on Wednesday, Nova High School in Davie had water spilling from the ceiling.

On Thursday, the area was saturated. 7Skyforce captured waves washing over a sports field.

Pompano Beach Middle also had downed trees, and the parking lots at Northeast High look like lakes. American Heritage in Plantation has sports fields and courts covered in water.

While for some, the wild weather took away a day in the classroom, BCPS officials said they have no regrets.

“No one was in harm’s way this morning. In our view, the right call to go ahead and close down today to make sure that everyone is safe,” said Licata.

Licata also said that two to three schools in Broward experienced power issues.

As of late Thursday afternoon, FPL officials said they were looking at the power outage at American Senior High. There is no word as to when power might be restored.