2 suspects caught after man is gunned down at Coral Gables building
CORAL GABLES – Two suspects have been captured after a man was gunned down at a Coral Gables building on Friday morning in a crime that is rare for that area.
Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak is thanking Miami residents who called in tips about the suspects, helping police capture them in Coconut Grove.
Police say it happened at the building at Merrill Way and Aragon Avenue. Miami-Dade PD told CBS4 that the victim lost his life in a botched robbery.
Rafael Grana told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that he was working in the building when he heard a gunshot.
"I was doing an electrical inspection and I heard the gunshot but I didn't know it was a gunshot. I heard a loud sound. I got in the elevator and went down to the lobby and saw all the commotion. They told me they were looking for a shooter."
Neighbors said they were stunned.
"For me, this is horrible. I am a very sensitive person," said one neighbor named Irina.
Her friend, Stella Mancuso, said, "I am just shocked. This is horrible. I hope this never happens again and I feel very sorry for the relatives."
Natalia Stolarczuk said, "I was walking by and I heard there was shooting. This was shocking to me especially in this affluent area where nothing like this usually happens. I just moved here and this is a big shock to me."
Mohamed Soliman said, "I heard a car pulled up and they tried to rob the man and shot him. This is terrible. This is a great neighborhood where everyone feels safe here and I wonder how this can happen, but it happens."
Coral Gables resident Natalie Leon said, "It's just kind of concerning. These things happen everywhere and it makes you feel not safe wherever you live. No matter where you live, you have to be careful."
Hudak said police responded swiftly and received a lot of help from the Miami and Miami-Dade Police Departments as well as Miami residents who called in with tips.
"A description was given to our units about a vehicle that fled the scene at a high rate of speed with 2 individuals inside. One of our officers, a K-9 officer was able to observe them within seconds. There was a vehicle pursuit that took place. The Officer observed the suspects bailing out at their location and running in different directions. We set up a perimeter and were able to get both suspects in custody without incident," said Hudak.
The suspects were captured near SW 27 Avenue and Bird Avenue in Coconut Grove.
"We got a lot of phone calls and I want to thank the residents of Miami for calling us right away and they saw people go through the years and it really helped identify the suspects that we now have in custody," said Hudak. "I don't care what crime is being investigated. When the public calls us with help, it helps get the bad guys off the streets. If you see something, say something. It works."
Hudak said, "Crime happens everywhere. It doesn't matter to our police society. We work together and we work quickly together and we were able to take these 2 people off the street."
Hudak said the motive in the Coral Gables homicide is not known.
He said since Miami-Dade PD has taken over the case, they will be given any surveillance tape that is useful that his officers find.
So far, the two suspects have not been identified.
It is also not known who the victim was and if he worked at the building.
Some neighbors told us they had heard the victim was a maintenance man at the building but police could not confirm that.
