Two Suspicious Deaths Being Investigated In North Miami Beach
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two police departments are working two suspicious deaths in North Miami Beach Friday.
The first scene happened close to 176th Street near NE 8th Place – a mostly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
"People watching out after each other's houses," said neighbor Shlomo Stein. "We're a pretty close knit community."
Neighbors left their homes early Friday morning only to find Miami-Dade Police everywhere and crime tape blocking their road.
Another neighbor, Rachel Baum, had no idea what was going on.
"We're not sure. We just came outside and there were a lot of police cars here and they just asked us to stay inside," Baum said.
The only information they could get was from neighbors closest to the scene.
"There was a car that crashed into the fence and they found a body in that car," Stein said.
There was another crime scene just 10 blocks away. This one was North Miami Beach police territory in Columbia Park near NE 13th Avenue and NE 177th Street.
"We're investigating a suspicious death. It appears the victim is a black male," said Det. Cora Mann. "But we don't know what we have so we're asking anyone who lives in this community to please give us a call."
Police said they got a call about a suspicious man on the sidewalk. When they arrived, they realized they had a death investigation.
"Got home and police cars everywhere, caution tape. Didn't know what was happening. Looked across the street, saw yellow canvas covering what appeared to be a body and later I saw it was a body when they uncovered it," said resident Steve Coyote.
Police aren't saying if the two investigations are connected, but North Miami Beach police did say they planned on meeting with Miami-Dade Police to discuss the two cases.
Even though authorities said they don't believe there's any immediate danger to the public, people in both neighborhoods say they're shaken by the two deaths.
"It's scary because we feel like we are safe in our little bubble here," said Baum. "We're neighbors and we feel comfortable with them, and we go out at night put out the trash or go here and there. And then to hear that something like this, it breaks up that little bubble."
