Cousin speaks out after 17-year-old stabbed in deadly Hialeah domestic incident
MIAMI - The cousin of a 17-year-old girl who was stabbed in a deadly domestic incident early Wednesday morning in Hialeah is speaking out, saying she wants to know what triggered this incident.
Alexandra Morales spoke exclusively with CBS News Miami when she and another family member went to the Ryder Trauma Center to visit the wounded teenager, Amanda Gonzalez.
Family members said she was doing better after undergoing surgery, but Morales is troubled.
"I don't even know what is going on," she said. "It is really crazy and I really hope for the best for her. I just pray for her and this hurts a lot. I am distraught and I feel like this is a dream, like it is not real. She is very sweet and very patient and kind. I never heard her scream or yell at anyone."
Family members identified the victims as Amanda Gonzalez, her mother Madelyne and her grandmother, Rosa. Family said they were stabbed by Amanda's brother Alex, who one neighbor and a friend said was a man in his 20s who had mental health issues.
"The questions I have are: why and what happened?" Morales said. "This is my little cousin. At the end of the day this happened to her and I have many questions. The same questions that everybody has."
"I don't know what I would have done if I would have lost her. This is a messed up situation," Morales said.
Amanda and one adult female were transported to the hospital and the other adult female died at the home, according to police.
It was just before 4:30 in the morning when Hialeah Police responded to a home at West 42nd Place and West 5th Court after a report of a domestic disturbance and when they arrived, they say they were met by a woman outside the home who had been stabbed and found two other females inside the home who had been stabbed.
Lt. Eddie Rodriguez said in a statement, "As the officers were rendering aid to the victims, there was a confrontation between the officers and the armed suspect where officers were forced to discharge their weapons."
Video from the scene shows officers shooting at someone inside the home and at least a dozen shots were heard.
CBS News Miami spoke with Steadman Stahl, the president of the South Florida PBA who represents one of the two officers who were involved in the shooting.
Stahl said "When police arrived, the subject turned his anger towards police officers and came at them with a knife. The officers had no other choice but to discharge their firearms and take out the subject."
"He had a knife in his hand and there were body-worn cameras," said Stahl. "When the officers gave multiple commands for him to drop it he did not comply with them and they were forced to shoot. No officer relishes taking the life of someone but they had no other choice but to shoot the subject."
"These family disputes can unwind in a second and officers get there and in a split second they have to make a decision when they are confronted by a subject with a knife who had been stabbing multiple family members," Stahl said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure in such cases.
