MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Police have identified a man who was shot and killed by officers Friday in Miami Gardens.
Miami Gardens police Officer Carlos Austin said Neico Crooks, 21, was fatally shot after he struck an officer with the car he was driving.
Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt said Crooks was shot while he driving a black car that was reported stolen. Police officers spotted him about 4 a.m. near Northwest 189th Terrace and Northwest Second Avenue.
In his attempt to get away, Crooks struck an officer, Noel-Pratt said. After several officers decided to fire their weapons, he crashed into a house in the 100 block of Northwest 189th Street.
"Once I heard the gunshots, I looked out of the window and saw police with guns pointed at the vehicle," Miami Gardens resident Willetta Bain said.
Crooks was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
No one inside the house was injured.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took the injured officer in a stretcher. He had bandages on his left leg.
A gun was found inside the stolen car, Noel-Pratt said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.