BROWNSVILLE, Fla. – Feet away from a tribute mural to Martin Luther King, Jr., crime scene tape surrounded an area behind a public bus stop on Sunday in Brownsville. A Miami-Dade sergeant shot a Black teenage boy who was armed, police said. And on Martin Luther King Day, the wounded teen remained at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department, said the teen was driving a black Dodge Challenger, refused to comply with a traffic stop, and crashed near Northwest 56th Street and 22nd Avenue in Brownsville. The car’s occupants ran away in different directions, the sergeant followed the teenage driver, and there was a confrontation before the shooting, Zabaleta said.
“The subject was struck and was transported in critical condition by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to Ryder Trauma Center. The subject’s firearm was recovered on the scene,” Zabaleta wrote in a statement.
Records show the boy who was wounded just turned 15 in November. His troubled history includes a Miami Gardens Police Department arrest when he was 11 years old for the attempted burglary of an occupied dwelling — the court decided that he was “mentally unable to stand trial.” Records also showed the teenager, who has links to Opa-locka, had a pick-up order when he was shot.
The pick-up order was related to firearm possession and an occupied burglary case out of Broward County, records show. On Sunday afternoon, officers found another handgun and an assault rifle inside the Dodge Challenger, Zabaleta said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the police-involved shooting. Zabaleta said the sergeant has been with the department for 29 years and he wasn’t injured during the confrontation with the teen. Detectives are asking anyone with information about the cases to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 1-866-471-8477 to submit anonymous tips.
This is a developing story. Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Aura Martinez contributed to this report.
Crime scene tape area
Map of crash area