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Police: Attempted Cop Killer In Custody

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A battered and bruised Damian Thompson walked into TGK Wednesday accused of trying to kill two Miami-Dade Police detectives.

Shot Up Car
Two undercover Miami-Dade detectives were shot at with an assault rifle at the Annie Coleman apartment complex. (Source: CBS4)

Investigators say Thompson opened fire on the officers in their undercover car in an ambush style attack, riddling the car with bullets.

The officers are lucky to be alive, police say.

Thompson's mother, Michele, says she's overwhelmed by the situation.

"I'm sorry what happened and I'm speechless," she said. "I'm hurt. The pain is on two sides."

Police say they received tips about Thompson's location in the hours after the shooting and found him at a hotel near Miami International Airport with several other people. Also arrested are Jamal Daniels, Jessica Pierre and Mikequesha Simmons.

When officers went to arrest Thompson, the arrest report says Thompson resisted, punching an officer and threatening them saying, "I'm going to kill both of y'all," and "y'all going to have to kill me today" and "I hate the (expletive) police."

Related: Massive Police Presence Near Area Where Officers Were Ambushed, Shot

The report says officers were forced to punch Thompson repeatedly to subdue him. His mother believes that was unnecessary.

"I'm confused," she admitted. "I'm not saying he's innocent. I know he be with a crowd. I know he be out there. But they didn't have to beat him like they beat him."

She said police arrived at her northwest Miami-Dade home early Tuesday morning, looking for her son. He wasn't home. She said Thompson called her later that morning.

"I told him the police had been here (and asked him) 'What you done did and what you did?' He was like, 'Mom, I didn't do that and you know this,'" she said.

The Miami Herald is reporting that Thompson is a known gang member. His mother said she knows nothing about that. Thompson has a criminal history, including an arrest earlier this year for carrying a concealed firearm. The arrest report shows that one of the officers shot on Monday, Det. Terence White, arrested Thompson in that case. CBS4 has also learned that the other officer shot, Det. Charles Woods, identified Thompson as the shooter.

Videos on Youtube show that Thompson is an aspiring rapper and musician, filming videos on the streets of Miami and discussing his music career.

"I make my own music videos," he said in one video. "I mix and master my own songs. I pick out my own beats on Youtube. I write my own music. I'm 19 years old. I'm from Miami, Florida."

He also posted another video to YouTube with the hashtag stop the violence on Martin Luther King Junior Day.

Part of that video appears to have been recorded at the same apartment complex in Northwest Miami-Dade where detectives Charles Woods, 47, and Terence White, 37, were conducting surveillance for gang activity Monday night, when they came under fire.

They were sitting in their unmarked police minivan when they were approached by a group.

They called for backup but before they could get out of their vehicle, one of the young men pulled out what appeared to be an AK-47 assault rifle and began ringing the car with bullets. The shooter moved toward the unmarked car as he fired, starting on the passenger side, working his way around the front of the car and then shooting at the driver's side, according to a law enforcement source.

Woods was able to return fire.

More than 20 rounds were fired at the unmarked car.

An arriving officer rushed the two detectives to the Jackson Ryder Trauma Center in the back of a pickup truck.

"They are lucky to be alive. It's been a while since I've seen a car hit by so many rounds. A high-powered weapon struck that vehicle and the officers should be counting their blessings today. We certainly are counting our blessings," said Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez.

White, a 26-year veteran of the force, was shot in the foot and remains in the hospital in stable condition. Woods, an 11-year veteran, who was shot in the arm, was treated and released.

Woods was able to identify Thompson as the shooter, officials said.

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