Police: Men In Miami Beach Penthouse Aimed Rifle At Street, Took Photos
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- Three men have been arrested after creating a security scare atop a Miami Beach penthouse.
Mohamed Azab Youssef, 39, Artur Schaback, 28, and Ivan Suhharev, 28, were apprehended by Miami Beach Police Friday, September 17th.
Police said Schaback and Suhharev were witnessed aiming an AR-15 rifle off the penthouse balcony at 1100 Collins Avenue, including Schaback wearing a mask over his face.
One caller told 911 they were pointing the firearm towards the busy street at citizens and tourists walking by.
"I did see a handful of different officers with rifles, pistols, shotguns, the whole nine," said witness Chris Clayborne. "It was the real deal."
Imagine arriving to your vacation spot and that's what you're greeted with.
"Uber driver drops us off and literally drops us off right on the crime scene. Not sure what's taking place cops everywhere yellow tape everywhere they're pushing us away from our hotel we were staying at," Clayborne said.
D.J. Richardson immediately began to regret his reservation for his vacation rental.
"Really started panicking," Richardson said. "I was like, I really don't feel safe here."
Police said the men snapped photographs as they took turns holding the weapon.
"It sounds like they might have been doing it for the Instagram," Clayborne. "I'm not sure."
Richardson added, "Everyone flexes for Instagram, so that's probably what he did."
Once SWAT made entry into the unit, they detained four people, including a juvenile.
Inside, they found the rifle, which was equipped with a long-distance scope, and 500 rounds of ammunition.
Cocaine and hashish, as well as drug paraphernalia, were also discovered.
"Our officers quickly saturated the area, established a perimeter… when it was safe to do so, we made entry into that apartment that is connected to the rooftop. Inside there were four males which were immediately detained. We also have recovered an assault rifle within that unit with lots of ammunition," said Ernesto Rodriguez with the Miami Beach Police Department.
Both Schaback and Suhharev confessed to carelessly displaying the weapon, police said, and they were charged with Improper Exhibition of a Firearm.
Youssef admitted the drugs were his and was charged possession and intent to sell.
Police didn't say whether or not the gun was fired.
The reports prompted police to shut down traffic throughout certain parts of the city as they investigated. Traffic was shut down on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue between 11th – 12th Street. It was reopened just before 3:30 p.m.
Police said the incident was the perfect example of see something, say something. They said a neighbor saw something and called police, allowing them to do their job quickly.