Residents: Detective Shooting Came As 'Complete Surprise'
MIAMI (CBS4) - Neighbors near the home where the shootout happened say the sound of gunfire came as a complete shock in the normally serene West Miami-Dade neighborhood.
Miami-Dade Police Detective John Saavedra was shot three times in the abdomen Tuesday night while attempting to search an alleged marijuana grow house. The gunman was shot and killed. Another person was taken into custody.
One neighbor named George, who asked us not to use his last name, said he never heard shots in the dozen years he lived in the neighborhood.
"Not even on New Year's," said George.
So when the shooting started Tuesday evening, he didn't even realize what was happening.
"I started to hear firecrackers... then I heard screaming - what sounded like anger - and then more firecrackers and I'm like something's wrong here," he recalled. "Not something you see on this block every day."
"It's kind of scary especially so close to where you live," said another neighbor, who wished to be called Gloria. "It's very scary."
Neighbors say they had no idea about the alleged grow house.
"They covered it up pretty well," said George.
