Stephen Taylor never knew he could say a prayer in the time it took him to dive to the ground.

Late Thursday night, he said one as he dove, and many more as he lay on the floor as a storm of bullets crackled around him in a bowling center where he plays each week. One shot struck him in the leg.

The gunfire, which left one man dead and four injured, began as a fight in the pool room.

Police said the shooting started with an argument in The Cloverleaf, a bowling center just north of the Golden Glades Interchange in Miami-Dade County. Timothy Carswell, 29, the dead victim, appeared to be the target, said Sgt. Pete Andreu, Miami-Dade police spokesman.

“I’m really lucky,” said Taylor, 58, a manager at The Miami Herald’s printing facility who was shot below the knee. “The good Lord can take life away any time.”

Around 11:10 p.m., police said Carswell got into an argument with D’Andre Rolack, 25, of north Miami-Dade, and Rolack took out a gun of unknown type. He began to shoot, hitting four other people. Police said one of Carswell’s friends fired back. Caught in the crossfire were Michael Vanderhee, 28, Taylor, 58, Maurice Grondin, 75, and James Benfield, 32.

Taylor went back to his home, where he is recovering. Grondin and Benfield were still at the hospital on Friday night. Benfield underwent surgery Friday afternoon and was recovering, police said. Grondin was recovering from a wound that shattered the bone below the knee.

Taylor, said he had gone to The Cloverleaf to watch the football game between the Air Force Academy and Colorado State when the shooting started. He, Benfield and Grondin were standing next to the bar when they heard the argument around the pool area.

“Next thing I heard were three or four loud noises,” Taylor said. “I knew they were gunshots. Then there was an enormous volley.”

Detective Rudy Espinosa said Rolack ran into an apartment complex in front of the bowling alley, and police arrested him after they cordoned off the area. They also found gunshot wounds, an indication there may be another shooter. Rolack was arrested and taken to Jackson Memorial where he was treated and released to authorities.

Records show that Rolack was arrested in 1997 in connection with a murder. He was also convicted for possession of heroin and possession of a firearm by a felon. Carswell had been convicted of resisting arrest without violence.

Jose Dante Parra Herrera can be reached at or 305-810-5005.