6 officers injured, 2 suspects killed after Walgreens robbery

3 Miami-Dade police officers suffered non-life threatening injuries; 2 Miami officers complain of ear aches; 1 Hialeah officer injured

MIAMI – An armed robbery at a Walgreens in Miami led to a deadly police shootout Tuesday morning.

"It sounded like World War III out here," said Tracey Addison, who was getting off the MetroRail when she heard gunfire nearby.

She held up her cell phone to record what was happening.

Dozens of officers converged under the MLK station at 27th avenue -- all aiming at a the blue Volvo with two men inside.

"They were shooting at the cops and the cops just shot the whole car up," Tracey said.

It was nearly 6:30 a.m. - the end of the hunt that started two hours earlier at a Miami Walgreens four and a half miles away. A surveillance camera there ahd a clear shot of a terrified night clerk being held at gunpoint.

Police found that gunman half an hour later at a trailer park 22 blocks away. He fired, shot the officer and took off in the officer's squad car. 

That officer was later identified as Saul Rodriguez, a 13-year-veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department. He was shot in the stomach and was listed in stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The man then ditched the car in Hialeah. He next surfaced in his family's Volvo convertible which he had picked up along the way and wrecked against a pole. There was also another man in the car. More gunfire was exchanged with police.

One of the suspects was killed and the other was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died.

"We do believe that the gentleman that was in this car -- one of them -- was the in fact the person who took the police car and shot our officer," said Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson.

It wasn't known whether both suspects had been at the scene of the first officer's shooting, or if one joined the other after the patrol car was abandoned, said Perez.

Friends identified one of the men as 27-year-old Adrian Montesano (pictured below). The Volvo was registered to his family.

Booking photo of Adrian Montesano after he was arrested for criminal mischief in 2007.

About the Author:

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."