HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA: A 13-year-old boy was hospitalised after being shot three times in the torso Monday night in South Miami-Dade County, police said.

According to the Miami Herald, Eric Watson Jr. was able to talk with medics when they arrived after the 7:30 pm shooting in the Homestead area, about 28 miles southwest of Miami, Detective Marjorie Eloi said.

Investigators were trying to determine a motive for the shooting. The teen had been outside with friends; he was visiting his grandmother, Eloi said.

The shooting happened the day after a 7-year-old boy was fatally shot in Richmond Heights, also in South Miami-Dade. Investigators do not believe they are connected. It is the latest in a string of Miami-Dade shootings with victims who are children or teens.

"It's becoming heartbreaking to ... continuously come out and speak about these shootings involving children," Eloi said. "Every phone call, our hearts sink. It's becoming a nightmare to us."

This story has been corrected to show the victim is 13-years-old, not 12-years-old.