MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach police are searching for a gunman who shot and killed a man late Saturday in the heart of South Beach’s bustling entertainment district.
"We really really want to talk to this person. We know he’s the shooter," said Miami Beach police Chief Daniel Oates.
Police on Tuesday released a number of surveillance videos from various sources in South Beach.
One video shows the suspect appearing to fidget with his hands and take off his jacket around 11:30 p.m. at Ocean Drive and 11th Street. Several minutes later, at 11:35 p.m., the man is seen firing his gun near the seawall at 13th Street. Police said there were no reports of injuries and no one reported the shooting to authorities.
Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, said the victim and the gunman got in an argument at 11:41 p.m. outside a Walgreens drugstore near Collins Avenue and 14th Street. The victim was shot multiple times and the gunman fled the scene before officers arrived, police said.
"As a community, this is not something we can tolerate, and we need to get to the bottom of. So we’d very much like to find this person and talk to them," Oates said.
Rodriguez said the victim was a 33-year-old man who frequented the South Beach area and had a history of arrests on numerous charges, including aggravated battery, drug possession and armed robbery.
Police were trying to notify the victim's family before identifying him, however those who knew the victim told Local 10 News reporter Sanela Sabovic he was homeless and trying to pick up the pieces of his life.
"He was a good guy. I've known since I've been here in the streets," Jacob Ritchie said. "Miami Beach was his paradise. It's where he came to start his new life. It's just cray it had to end that way at such a young age."
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. In addition to Crime Stopper’s $3,000 reward, the Greater Miami-Miami Beach Police Foundation is also offering $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.