Domestic Dispute Led To Deadly Police Involved Shooting In SW Miami-Dade
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A deadly domestic dispute led to a police-involved shooting in southwest Miami-Dade.
It happened in a gated community known as Caribe Lakes at SW 154th Court and SW 32nd Street.
"It's horrible. It is horrible," said Jonathan Diaz, a neighbor. "In this neighborhood, this does not happen. It is tragic and it is shocking. It happened just down the street right next to a home where my kids play with other kids."
Miami-Dade police Director Juan Perez said they received a call about a domestic violence incident inside a house. The caller told the 911 operator that their father was killing their mother with a knife.
"Our first officer that arrived on the scene had to take immediate action and try to intervene. As the officer made entry into the residence, [he found] what can only be described as a horrific scene. He found a deceased person within seconds of making entry and two other inhabitants of that residence which we believe at this point are a young adult and a teenage person, both of whom are the victim's kids," said Perez.
Police have identified the deceased person as 49-year-old Marays Morejon.
Perez said the officer then ran into a man with a knife, who they suspect killed the Morejon, his wife.
"The officer potentially saved some lives today. He, unfortunately, had to take someone's life in the process. There were shots fired by our officer. The individual that was struck by the rounds is deceased on the scene as well," said Perez.
That man has been identified by police as 51-year-old Reinaldo Gonzalez of Miami.
"What it appears is that it appeared the situation was about to turn violent so the officer was forced to deploy his weapon," said Perez. It's not known if the officer was being attacked or was in the process of being attacked. That is under investigation.
Perez said after the officer shot Gonzalez, he did everything he could to save his life.
"Our condolences and thoughts and prayers go out to the families and the survivors of this horrible attack and to the officer," said Perez. "Keep him in your prayers as he had to face a very traumatic and serious situation."
Perez said the officer was not injured and said he is a 17-year veteran in the department.
He also said it was believed the children were not hurt. He said Victims' Advocates and their next of kin had been notified.
It's not known what prompted this incident or if the couple had been having marital problems. Perez said it was not known at this point if police had been called to the home before.
Perez said officers did recover a weapon from the home which he described as a "large knife."
Detectives scoured the scene, carting away evidence including a pair of white sneakers.
As per department policy involving an officer-involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation into the shooting.
The Miami Dade Police Homicide unit is handling the murder investigation before the officer arrived.
