DORAL, Fla. – An early Saturday morning shooting in Martini Bar at CityPlace Doral — that killed two and injured seven — remained under investigation, according to police.
Police officers did not identify any of the victims on the record, but two people at the scene and Local 10 News sources identified a slain bar security guard as George Castellanos.
“Our heart goes out to that family,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department, said during a news conference.
The two people pointed to a Facebook account belonging to Castellanos that listed him as having attended Doral Academy Charter Middle School, and G. Holmes Braddock High School.
William Suedois is among the CityPlace apartment residents who live near the bar at 3450 NW 83 Ave. He said he first heard three gunshots at about 3 a.m., and then 10 or 15 more.
“My apartment is pretty close to all the music. It was very loud. I felt it in my chest,” Suedois said. “I am not going to lie; it was pretty scary.”
Suedois then saw people running out of the bar in panic. Police officers and fire rescue personnel responded quickly. Officers surrounded the area.
“I saw a lady on the ground. I wasn’t sure if she was hit, if she was hurt, if she was scared — it was crazy,” Suedois said.
Zabaleta said a woman and five men were injured during the crossfire.
The gunman, who allegedly fatally shot Castellanos, also died at the bar. Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said police officers “neutralized” the gunman.
“The heroic actions of our police officers today prevented an incident from escalating,” Lopez said.
A police officer was among the seven injured. Lopez identified him as an officer with four years of experience who applied his tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Zabaleta said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel took the officer, who was in stable condition, and a civilian to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and the others to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.
“Whose gunfire was the one that struck them? It is way too early to know,” Zabaleta said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the police-involved shooting, and the Miami-Dade Police Department was investigating the homicide.
“Anytime a law enforcement officer is shot, it tears at the core fabric of our community, but we are grateful that he is alive and in stable condition,” Lopez said.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office was also at the scene. Lopez said police officers from the neighboring Medley and Sweetwater departments assisted.
Local 10 News Managing Editor Alissa Merlo and Assignment Desk Editor Joyce Grace Ortega and Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.
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