Police: Cutler Bay Killing, Home Invasion Could Be Related To Earlier Shooting, Carjacking
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Miami-Dade police are investigating the killing of a man who was ambushed during a home invasion robbery in Cutler Bay.
Earlier in the evening, a van was stolen at gunpoint. Police suspect the stolen van was used during the commission of this crime.
It happened shortly before 11:30 pm. Tuesday night at home near 222nd Street and SW 99th Avenue.
Arriving officers found a 31-year-old man with a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police have identified the victim as Daniel Macko. Family members showed up to scene wailing outside of the crime tape. A man who identified himself as the victim's cousin said Macko was a father of three, including an infant who is hospitalized.
He said Macko was returning home from the hospital on Tuesday night when he was confronted and killed.
Investigators believe one or more people laid in wait until someone arrived at the home. When the man arrived and opened the front door, they forced their way inside, shot the man and then robbed him. The killers fled in a black van.
"Three gunshots, that's what I heard, I was in the bedroom," said one neighbor.
Ana Lorenzo, who lives several houses down, said she heard it too.
"I heard boom, boom, boom, like that but I never think it was a gunshot, I think it was something else," she said. "It is scary. My daughter walk over here at night time, running, and she said she saw a van and everything."
Some people who live in the area were shocked when they learned what had happened.
"They was waiting for someone to come, shoot them and go inside," said one person in disbelief.
Police say they believe the black van used in this robbery is linked to a second robbery in southwest Miami-Dade.
Earlier in the evening, a black van was stolen during a carjacking and another person was shot in southwest Miami-Dade.
The incidents took place within minutes of each other, just about a mile apart.
In each case, the suspects were on a bike and both were caught on surveillance cameras.
"I heard somebody say 'give me the keys. I want your car'," said a homeowner that did not want to be identified
She said around 8:45 p.m., her son was shot in the leg when two men attempted to steal her car.
"My son was coming around with the groceries and I heard 'pow!' All of a sudden I just started blowing the horn like crazy," she explained.
The horn appeared to scare the two off and they fled on the bike without taking anything. She said her son is expected to be okay.
However, about five minutes later, there's a familiar scene. Another surveillance camera shows two men pulling up on a bike and carjacking a man at gunpoint just as he was getting home.
"Two people assault me with a rifle and a gun. They put a gun to my head and keep the keys to my car and my phone," explained Luis Molina.
He described it as the most terrifying two minutes of his life.
"In that moment you don't think about nothing," he said. "So nervous."
One hopped in Molina's black Dodge Ram van and took off, while the other followed on the motorbike.
Molina said the men wore masks and were dressed in all black.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477 or (305) 471-TIPS.