SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – A 19-year-old is behind bars after a Saturday morning rampage that terrorized a family and a southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood. It all apparently happened after Ruben Warren Williams was confronted by his grandfather about smoking pot and other substances.
Williams is accused of shooting and injuring his grandfather and aunt and killing his cousin. He faces several serious charges, among them second-degree murder.
According to police documents, Williams became upset when his grandfather spoke to him about his drug use around 11:15 a.m. Saturday. Williams responded by shooting his grandfather, then shooting his aunt, police said.
The two victims jumped from a second-story window to escape from the home where the shooting happened along Southwest 294th Street near Southwest 142nd Ave.
The male victim reportedly broke both ankles and had gunshot wounds to his back. The female had gunshot wounds to her upper extremities, according to the report.
In the home’s living room, Williams shot his cousin, identified as 27-year-old Carlton Tillman, police said. Tillman ended up collapsing on the kitchen floor, where Miami-Dade Fire Rescue found him dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Williams then went upstairs in search of his grandfather and aunt, allegedly not knowing that they had jumped. Two other adults hid in an upstairs bedroom with their four children, after hearing gunshots.
According to police, the man hiding in the bedroom had his own gun and exited the bedroom. He made contact with Williams and they exchanged gunfire, but the man retreated, going back into the bedroom where he barricaded the door with a dresser.
No one hiding in the bedroom was injured, according to police.
“There was a verbal dispute inside of the residence that escalated and led to shots fired,” said Detective Kristopher Welch, of the Miami Dade Police Department.
Police said Williams then left the residence, where he spotted his aunt outside. They said he began chasing her through the neighborhood while shooting at her. She escaped the gunman by running to a neighbor’s yard. Exclusive surveillance video obtained by Local 10 News shows a neighbor helping the injured woman.
Police said Williams also shot and injured a neighbor’s barking dog.
Williams then escaped the scene after he jumped into the passenger’s side of a vehicle that was parked. The unsuspecting woman had stopped to locate the address of a store on her cellphone.
The woman said Williams got into the car, put a gun to her head and yelled at her to drive. He demanded her phone and wedding ring, the victim told police. She said she gave him the items and Williams held her at gunpoint, forcing her to drive around for several hours.
Witnesses told police they saw Williams enter the woman’s black vehicle. Police said Williams had also contacted his sister, telling her that he had kidnapped a woman for her car.
Police eventually caught up with Williams on Saturday night and took him into custody.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene and pronounced Tillman dead. The man and woman were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.