Police Officer Involved Shooting At Miami-Dade Club
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Miami mother is demanding to know why a Miami-Dade police officer shot her son at a night club.
It happened just after 4 a.m. Sunday at the El Romance Restaurant & Club at 3451 NW 36th Street, just east of Miami International Airport.
Cristian Lopez, 23, arrived to the club with his girlfriend and friends.
Witnesses told CBS4 that it started with a that fight broke out between a security guard and a club patron.
Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said someone from the club flagged down one of their officers after two people were stabbed.
For an unknown reason, the officer fired his gun, shooting Lopez.
"Now what actually caused (the shooting) to occur…we can't get into that because of the fact that we have to get the statement from the officer," says Zabaleta.
Lopez's mother, Maria Recio, said her son didn't do anything to justify the officer shooting him in the stomach. Recio said he wasn't armed or involved in the stabbing.
Zabaleta would not say whether Lopez was armed or did something to threaten the officer, but police said the investigator will get Lopez's side of the story once he receives medical treatment.
Lopez was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The two other people who received stab wounds were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center. Police have not released their names or their medical condition.
The officer involved in the shooting has served with the Miami-Dade Police Department for seven years.
Lopez's mother fears the officer will get away with what she sees as an unjustified shooting.
"The police always win," she said.
