2 Undercover MDPD Officers Ambushed & Shot In NW Miami-Dade
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami-Dade Police Department has confirmed two of their officers have been shot in Northwest Miami-Dade Monday night.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez, who held a press conference outside the hospital, said the shooting happened at the Annie Coleman apartment complex near NW 60th Street and 20th Avenue at around 10 p.m.
"Today we had a very scary incident. Obviously, we have two of our officers that work in the homicide task force, part of the gang unit, conducting an investigation near the Annie Coleman apartments," he said. "The end result of their operation was that they were apparently shot in an ambush-style attack."
Police said two men ambushed the officers unprovoked. It's unknown if shooters had any idea they targets were cops.
One of the officers returned fire. It's not known if a suspect was hit or not.
A witness said she was on the phone with her boyfriend, who lives in the neighborhood, when she heard over two dozen shots.
Police from multiple agencies set up a very large perimeter, extending as far as NW 56th Street.
CBS4's Silva Harapetian noted there were several helicopters in the air assisting in the search and saw SWAT passing through the area.
Fire rescue from Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami were on the scene as well.
Miami Fire Rescue told CBS4's Oralia Ortega they were there in case anyone was injured during the search.
Ortega was told by police that they do not have anyone in custody at this time.
Authorities have not said how many people they are looking for at this time. Detectives did say one suspect is a black male between 17 or 18 years old.
The officers were rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in the back of a pick-up truck.
CBS4's Hank Tester was able to confirm the two officers are in stable condition.
Perez was joined by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez at the press conference outside the hospital.
"As the director said, this was a brazen act of violence committed against two of our finest officers. They're there trying to protect us and this community, and they were ambushed and we're not gonna tolerate it," said Gimenez.
Both Perez and Gimenez asked that the community step forward and provide all they information they have to help find those responsible.
"We need you now to step up to the plate. And if you know something, if you saw something, say something," Perez said. "These people, if they are willing to do that to our own officers, are causing havoc in our community, causing chaos in people's live, putting people below the ground. That's what these guys are, murders in our community. So let's work together to find a resolution to what occurred tonight."
Gimenez added, "You can tell by their tone and also the look on their faces that we are all united."
If you have any information that can help police, please contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
Stay with CBSMiami.com for updates on this developing story.
