MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Cellphone video captured the moment Miami-Dade police officers opened fired on a car thief suspect Monday, who was allegedly holding a machete.
The terrifying ordeal played out in front of stunned drivers early Monday afternoon near the intersection of Northwest 57th Avenue and Northwest 183rd Street.
The shooting shut down 57th Avenue at Miami Gardens Drive for several hours.
Local 10 News has learned that Rolando Roman Delgado, 50, was behind the wheel of the white SUV when officers opened fire.
Delgado had allegedly stolen the SUV from a nearby Volkswagen dealership. Police said they broke a window to get in the SUV when they confronted him, and said that Delgado grabbed a machete.
"Did you see him with a machete before?" Local 10 News reporter Derek Shore asked one of Delgado's neighbors.
"I have, around the yard," Charles Cooper said.
Cooper said he has seen police placing Delgado under arrest before, but he didn't know why.
Delgado's arrest history includes a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.
"It's shocking," Cooper said. "I don't know. I just never would have expected him to do something like that and just end up in that situation."
Delgado was taken to a hospital after the shooting, where he was pronounced dead.
Miami-Dade police said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.