Video: Woman & Sons Confront Suspected Car Thieves
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A man was rushed to the hospital for a gunshot wound after a chance encounter with car thieves at a Miami gas station.
It began Monday night when a Ford Focus was stolen from a woman's home in the middle of the night.
When she and her three sons drove the other car to a Shell gas station, at NE 82nd Street and North Miami Avenue, they spotted the woman's stolen Focus with at least two boys in it.
Cameras caught the rest. The woman's three sons confronted them, they argued and then the son chased after them as they ran. That's when one of the suspected car thieves shot him on the right side of his abdomen.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Marjorie Eloi told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the victim was identified as 26-year-old Lazaro Manuel Arencibia of Miami, who lives just four blocks from the gas station.
#breakingnews 2nd suspect in #Miami shooting caught on tape. The victim confronted car thieves. @CBSMiami pic.twitter.com/r9wv4A5cu0
— Silva Harapetian (@silvaharapetian) August 2, 2016
The video shows Arencibia punching someone in the backseat before the shots were fired. Once he got shot, Arencibia dropped to his knees and his mother and brother came to his rescue.
Meantime, witnesses ducked for cover.
"I was standing behind a black car and they were having a discussion, so I left to another pump. When I was at the other pump, they kept fighting and then the black car left and then they started shooting and everybody started hiding behind the pumps," said witness Barbara Rivera.
"I hear the sound boom or something like that. I feel really bad for the guy...I was really nervous at that time," said gas station attendant Meharab Hossin.
Arencibia was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery. His family said it went well and he's doing better.
Eloi told D'Oench that police are looking for "three black males who are between the ages of 18 and 22" and who fled in a blue Hyundai Sonata.
The stolen Ford Focus has since been towed as evidence.
Witnesses - still in shock - say the victims were lucky.
Rivera said it's always best to call the police instead of confronting suspects because you never know if they have a gun.
Anyone with information about this case should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
