2nd Officer Dies After Miami Shooting
2 Schools Placed On Lockdown
POSTED: Thursday, January 20, 2011
UPDATED: 1:07 pm EST January 20, 2011
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MIAMI -- A second Miami-Dade police officer died Thursday morning after a shooting in Miami, according to police. The incident occurred in the 6100 block of Northwest Sixth Court in Miami. Although there were initial reports that U.S. marshals were injured, the Miami-Dade Police Department said the officers involved were Miami-Dade police officers. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said the Miami-Dade police officers were working with other officers to serve a warrant to a homicide suspect. Alvarez said the officers went to a location on 69th Street and encountered the suspect, and gunfire broke out. A man at the scene said he heard eight to 12 shots. Cmdr. Nancy Perez, of the Miami-Dade Police Department, confirmed that two Miami-Dade police officers were shot. One died, and the other was undergoing surgery Thursday afternoon. "There could have been maybe a third or fourth officer with them, but they were not injured," Perez said. Alvarez said the injured officer, a woman, was shot several times and was in critical condition at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She later was pronounced dead, according to police. "Today is a very sad day in Miami-Dade County," Alvarez said. There had been reports that a suspect also was shot, but Perez said she could not confirm that. A representative of the U.S. Marshals Service said no marshals were at the scene, but the Miami-Dade police officers who were involved were part of a U.S. Marshals Florida regional task force. "Unfortunately, no matter how well prepared you are, no matter how well armed you are, no matter how well trained you are, when there is a violent criminal out there that is willing to give up his life, he will always have the upper hand," Alvarez said. "Because you don't know if this guy is just going to give up, even though he might be a violent subject, or in this case, he chose to shoot it out with the police." Nearby Thena Crowder Elementary School at 757 NW 66th St. and Jesse McCrary Elementary School at 514 NW 77th St. were put on lockdown, but the lockdowns were lifted by about 12:15 p.m. Thursday. Southbound Interstate 95 was briefly shut down at Northwest 62nd Street, but it has since reopened.
