DORAL, Fla. – A Doral man is accused of luring police officers to his apartment by calling 911 to report a burglary and then shooting at them as they made their way inside.
Sergio Van Kanten, 34, was arrested Tuesday on three counts of attempted murder on a law enforcement officer and one count each of discharging a firearm in public and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Rey Valdes, a spokesman for the Doral Police Department, said Van Kanten called 911 and claimed that six men had broken into his apartment on Northwest 85th Court.
When officers arrived, they heard several gunshots coming from inside the apartment.
"Fearing for the safety and welfare of anyone who might be in the apartment, the officers conducted a forced entry and kicked down the door, at which time additional gunshots were fired in the direction of the door," Valdes said in a news release.
The SWAT team was called and, after a couple of hours of police negotiators speaking with Van Kanten, he surrendered without incident, Valdes said.
Van Kanten later confessed to calling 911 and falsely reporting the home invasion, Valdes said.
"The investigation conducted by detectives did not reveal any evidence indicating that a burglary of the subject's apartment had taken place," Valdes said.
Van Kanten also confessed to having shot at a Doral police cruiser that was parked in his apartment complex in April, Valdes said.