MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade County man shot and killed his mother-in-law in the driveway of his home Monday evening, neighbors and friends said. He then fled the scene and later took his own life as police officers closed in.
When officers arrived at the home in the 2100 block of Northeast 211th Street just before 5 p.m., they found the woman inside her car with a gunshot wound to the head. Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
Neither the victim, a prominent real estate agent, nor the gunman were identified by authorities as of late Monday.
The shooting shocked neighbors in the Highland Lakes area. They huddled together comforting each other amid police tape as officers investigated.
"I just saw pictures on Facebook and then to find out that her son-in-law shot her is just insane. You never know when people snap," one neighbor said.
After the shooting, the gunman fled the scene in his black Mercedes, driving several miles north to Hollywood.
Hollywood police responded after getting a call from Miami-Dade County police that the gunman's mobile phone pinged in their city. They were able to stop him just north of Pembroke Road on 21st Avenue.
"We were able to find the vehicle And were able to place a perimeter around the vehicle and sustain the vehicle," said Officer Christian Lata of the Hollywood Police Department. "SWAT team was called out because there was info that the suspect was armed."
Eventually, police determined that he had killed himself.
A close friend showed up in Hollywood as news spread on social media. He says the whole thing ignited because of a divorce.
"Basically, he found out he was getting divorced," the friend said. "He was unhappy with the divorce, and he shot his mother-in-law inside the car, and then he decided to flee the scene. It's very sad. Very sad."