Police: Deranged gunman holds 4 hostages in Miami highrise in Midtown, tries to kill 2

Man faces 10 charges in Miami-Dade County court

Police officers arrested Efren Ferro on Thursday in Miami. (MDCR)

MIAMI – Police officers reported a 27-year-old man who frightened Miami Midtown high-rise residents said he wanted to go into the witness protection program, the FBI was monitoring him, and his identity had been stolen.

According to a police arrest report, Efren Ferro was armed when he went into a deranged tirade and held four people hostage on Thursday at EVE at The District, a condominium near Northeast 36 Street and First Avenue.

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According to the report, witnesses said Ferro moved an oven and a refrigerator away from a wall before he took his first hostage to the lobby — where he took three more hostages — while pacing around and waving his gun.

According to police, Ferro walked outside of the building to shoot at a Toyota and took the victims’ cell phones. Detectives have surveillance video of the incident and a recorded interview with Ferro.

Miami-Dade correctional records show Ferro was at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Friday facing four counts of armed kidnapping, four counts of armed robbery, and two counts of attempted murder.


About the Author
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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