‘The officers were forced to fire’: Man killed in police-involved shooting
By Jessica Vallejo, Rubén Rosario
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HOMESTEAD, Florida (WSVN) — A barrage of bullets tore through a Homestead neighborhood when, police said, officers responding to a disturbance were forced to fire, fatally striking a man.
A surveillance came captured gunfire along the 400 block of Sunrise Boulevard, at around 2 a.m., Saturday.
Shortly after, the same camera recorded multiple police cruisers arriving at the neighborhood with their flashing lights on.
Speaking in Spanish, neighbor Felix Rodríguez told 7News, “I heard shots, and they woke me up.”
Just two hours later, Rodríguez continued, he heard four more rounds of gunfire.
Homestead Police officers and members of Miami-Dade Police’s Special Response Team ordered neighbors to stay inside their homes.
“Then they had cops block off all over the front of Sunrise there. They had duct tapes over there, they had cops on every corner of Sunrise,” said a man who lives in the neighborhood.
Investigators later confirmed a man was fatally shot inside his home.
“An incident did occur with the officers where the officers were forced to fire their firearms,” said Homestead Police Capt. Fernando Morales.
Area residents who spoke with 7News said the man who was shot was mentally ill.
Police said this wasn’t their first time responding to this house.
“I can tell you we’ve been at this residence before. We have had encounters with this individual in the past,” said Morales, “so all of that is part of this investigation that’s going to be occurring.”
Rodríguez said the man had a gun in his hands on Friday.
“Police told him to put the gun down, and they forgave him,” he said.
Video posted social media by Homestead Social showed Homestead Police officers standing with their guns drawn and pointed at the man as he stood in front of a home on Friday. He is seen waving to officers, but he was not armed.
Police confirmed this prior encounter with the man, hours before the shooting, adding that officers disengaged and left, then returned early Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon, bullet casings remained on the ground of his front door.
“He was young, he had his life ahead of him,” said Rodríguez.
“They probably didn’t know what was going on. We probably need more awareness for people with mental issues,” said the other man who lives in the neighborhood.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over this investigation.
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