MIAMI – A man who fatally stabbed his girlfriend in Miami was shot and killed by a police officer early Thursday morning, police said.
The stabbing and shooting happened about 1:45 a.m. near Northwest Seventh Avenue and Northwest Second Street in Little Havana.
Miami police said an officer saw the knife-wielding man stab a woman.
"He did ride up on the attack in progress," Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said.
Llanes said the officer tried to protect the woman and was forced to open fire at the man, killing him.
The woman, identified as Joenny Feliz, 46, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said Feliz's 18-year-old and 2-year-old daughters witnessed the stabbing. The oldest daughter wasn't injured, but the 2-year-old girl was stabbed in the chest and was taken to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.
"Just one time three days ago they (were) having some kind of trouble," Feliz's brother, Franklin Medina, said of her relationship with her boyfriend.
Distraught relatives were seen leaving the hospital. Medina said his niece is recovering from surgery.
Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, called the 11-year veteran "100 percent a hero."
Llanes said the officer will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Ortiz said he's confident that the shooting will be justified.
"It's unfortunate that he had to take somebody's life," Ortiz said.