MIAMI – Danny Alvarez used to play basketball on the same street in Miami's Little Havana where he was killed on Saturday. Witnesses said they heard six gun shots that were likely coming from a moving vehicle.

The 17-year-old student's mother, Maria Alvarez, said he was murdered a block away from his home at Southwest 31st Avenue and Southwest Fourth Street near the iconic Versailles Cuban Bakery.

"Please, help me find out who did this," the distraught mother said in Spanish.

Miami Police Department Officer Kenia Fallat said the teen suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was taken to Coral Gables Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

"At this time, the motive is unclear," Fallat said Saturday afternoon. "No other information is available."

Miami-Dade County schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho expressed outrage on Twitter.

"No matter the motive for this horrific crime, our community has lost another young person before his 18th birthday," Carvalho wrote. "My prayers and thoughts are with those who love Danny Alvarez."

A neighbor said this is the second tragedy to hit the Alvarez family. The teen had lost his father to a heart attack in July.

Detectives were asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.