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Woman Fatally Shot By Police Serving Eviction At Brickell Building Identified As 40-Year-Old Stephanie Voikin

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – She showed up for a party a year ago and never left.

That's what a source familiar with the investigation and the building told CBS4's Brooke Shafer about 40-year-old Stephanie Voikin, the woman shot and killed by police during an eviction in Brickell on April 6th.

Voikin, who had been living on the top floor of the Brickell First apartments building at 110 SW 12 Street for a year, reportedly shot at police officers with Miami-Dade's eviction task force when they breached the front door. At least one officer returned fire, striking Voikin.

"She fired the firearm and it hit our shield. Thanks to the grace of God, none of our officers were injured," said Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez.

Voikin was rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center where she died.

Our source said Voikin attended a party at the apartment on the 22nd floor a year ago. Even when the tenants who threw the party and had a lease moved out at the start of the pandemic, Voikin stayed and became a squatter, our source said.

CBS4 news partners The Miami Herald reported Voikin had a troubled past. Their reporting said a doctor in Miami filed a restraining order against her for stalking last year. The Miami Herald also reported Voikin was involved in at least four civil domestic cases in Palm Beach County since 2007.

"I know the woman really kept to herself and she had a couple of pets," said Bianca Routt who lives on the 16th floor of the building with her family. "I saw her once in the elevator and she was kind of standoff-ish, a little bit aggressive."

Routt said her dad woke up from a nap to the sound of gunshots around 1 p.m.

"These are one of those scenarios that we always worry about, but our officers were prepared and trained," said Director Ramirez. "It's just an unfortunate outcome, but they fired at my officers."

The building had reportedly been trying to evict Voikin for a year, but it was next to impossible because of the moratorium on evictions in place in Miami-Dade because of the pandemic.

Miami-Dade County just recently began processing evictions filed this last year.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation, as is the case with all local police-involved shootings.

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