MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A man who robbed a Regions Bank in Miami Beach Thursday before being fatally shot by a SWAT team had previous run-ins with law enforcement.
Local 10 News has learned Julian Joseph, 40, has an arrest record dating back to 2005 in Miami-Dade County. Some of his charges include, burglary, possession of cannabis and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Investigators from the medical examiner's office hauled Joseph's body away Friday morning following the deadly standoff.
"I tell my wife, 'You know we don't have to lock our apartment. This is a safe place,'" said Joshua DeBord, who lives in the area. "But you never know when somebody robs a bank just down the block and needs a place to hold up. You don't know whose door they may come to. Pretty scary."
The robbery was reported Thursday afternoon at a Regions Bank on 41st Street.
The FBI said surveillance cameras captured Joseph storm into the lobby and assault two employees before robbing a teller.
Agents said the man also left a suspicious package behind. Witnesses initially believed there may have been a bomb inside the bag, but the bomb squad didn't find any explosives.
Authorities said Joseph was found at his nearby apartment building on 40th Street.
Negotiators spent roughly seven hours trying to convince the suspect to surrender. With no luck, Miami Beach SWAT team members fired nearly two dozen tear gas canisters in the apartment's windows, which shattered many of the windows. They waited a half hour. The place was completely gassed up. With no response and no movement inside, the SWAT team moved in.
The SWAT team searched every room and every door, and when they came to a closet in one of the rooms and opened it, Joseph was on the floor and he pointed a gun at them, Local 10 News has learned.
Local 10 News' sources said the SWAT team officers felt they had no choice but to shoot, killing Joseph instantly.
Sources told Local 10 News that the gun Joseph had was a fake.
Police said they did all they could to end the situation peacefully.
The tear gas canisters shattered the windows of Joseph's second-floor apartment.
The injured employees were taken to nearby hospitals. Authorities said they suffered serious head injuries.
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