Exclusive: Father Of Person Of Interest Says To Son 'Turn Yourself In'
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MIAMI GARDENS(CBSMiami) -- The father of a person-of-interest in a deadly shooting early Tuesday in Miami Gardens is urging his son to turn himself in.
Miami Gardens Police have released a flyer showing a photo of 34-year-old Emmanuel Saint-Fleur and say they want to question him about a shooting that left one person dead just before 4:30 a.m. on N.W. 17th Place at 157th Street. Another wounded person was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Clifford Saint-Fleur, the father of Emmanuel, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench in an exclusive interview that he had a message for his son.
"If you watching," he said, "you are putting me in a difficult situation. I am a sick man and I am scared."
The father did not want to show his face but he wanted to speak out, hoping that would prompt his son to turn himself in to Miami Gardens Police.
"If you are watching, you need to know I spoke to a Miami Gardens police detective and he had a lot of questions," he said. "If you know something, instead of hiding you need to turn yourself in. It would be better for him."
The police flyer listed Emmanuel Saint-Fleur's address as an 8th floor apartment at a building at 5601 N.W. 2nd Ave. in Miami. As Miami Police watched that building, Clifford Saint-Fleur said, "I am upset because I do not hear from my son. His three children are here. He sees them on weekends. I am upset because police have come here questioning me. I am scared because he is my son."
Miami Gardens Police have not identified the victims or said what prompted the shooting.
Saint-Fleur said he has not been given details about the incident. He did say his son has been troubled lately because of family issues.
"He was having an altercation with his ex-wife," he said.
Saint-Fleur said his son had not been in trouble before. A check of records in Miami-Dade County showed no arrest for Emmanuel Saint-Fleur.
"He's a good person," said his father. "He is a Christian. He goes to church. Like last Sunday, he went to church with his kids and they also went to the youth fair. I don't know what happened. He is supposed to come forward."
One neighbor, Willie Harrell, described what he heard.
"I heard someone running from somebody," he said. "It was still dark out here. I heard brakes squealing and everything. The next thing you know I heard a couple of shots."
Neighbor Brad Jones said, "I just got here. I really don't know how the neighborhood is. It was pretty quiet when I first got here. But I guess you know things happen."
Harrell is discouraged.
"I guess you know it's somebody shooting every week anyway," he said. "Like a couple of years back, they had two people get killed in front of the pool in this neighborhood there."
Anyone with information about this case should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $3,000.
