MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man suspected of trying to break into a Miami-Dade house was shot dead Monday afternoon by an off-duty City of Miami police officer, authorities say.
It happened just before 4 p.m. Monday in the Westchester area.
A 13-year-old boy was home alone and noticed someone trying to break into the house in the 700 block of SW 98th Court, just south of West Flagler Street, police say.
The boy called his mother, who then called the boy’s father, a City of Miami police officer.
“Her son called her that somebody was trying to break in,” said Christina Carmenate, a cousin of the homeowner. “They called her ex-husband, who is a police officer. He came, and at that point, I don’t know what else has happened.”
The person shot in the driveway was taken to Kendall Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead there.
The shooting happened outside of the city police officer’s jurisdiction.
“What I heard was some shooting right in the back of my house. And five minutes later I see a lot of police cars, coming and coming and coming,” said neighbor Raul Artiles.
Neighbors said the family that lives at the home moved in a few months ago, but the previous owner used to park a camper in the driveway.
“At the absence of the camper, they decided to probably try to break in. They thought that maybe there was nobody there,” Orencio Castillo said.
The Miami Fraternal Order of Police stands by the officer’s deadly decision.
“He was defending himself and his family. His 13-year-old child was inside the house,” Miami FOP Vice President Mathew Reyes said.
A high-ranking officer with the Miami Police Department was on scene early in the evening. The neighborhood was blocked by yellow crime scene tape throughout the evening while the investigation was ongoing.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate, as is normal protocol with all police-involved shootings. Once the investigation is complete, the results will be turned over to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for a legal review.
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