Crash Near Cops Leads To Officer-Involved Shootout
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - An unmarked Miami-Dade police car was rendered a metallic block of Swiss cheese, peppered with bullet holes after a shootout in Miami Gardens Thursday morning.
Resident Roosevelt Williams heard it.
"Just bom, bom, bom," Williams said.
Investigators say a pair of detectives were doing routine work in the area of 172nd St. and 29th Ave. when they witnessed a two-car crash nearby. A gray Chevy took off. When the detectives caught up with it, hot lead began to fly.
"They were confronted by two males that bailed out of the vehicle and several gunshots were fired," said Miami-Dade Police spokesperson Marjorie Eloi. "Fortunately the officers were not struck."
It is a wonder, given all the rounds that hit their car. One resident, who declined to give her name, was startled awake.
"I just heard a lot of shots, and I got up and, well, I wanted to get on the floor. I was so, so afraid," the woman said.
The two officers wounded 23-year-old Christopher Goa. Twenty-five-year-old Wently Phenelon, they say, was the wheelman. Twenty-six-year-old Demetrius Walker was also in the car. All three have histories of arrests for violent crimes.
For some, it was just another night on the mean streets of an area known for frequent gunfire.
"It's crazy, man. It's crazy out here. It is," Roosevelt Williams said.
The three suspects will be facing multiple charges, including attempted murder of law enforcement officers, a detective told CBS4 News.
The Florida Department of Law-Enforcement, an outside agency, will investigate the police involved shooting.
