Body found after fire sparks at northeast Miami-Dade strip mall

Unclear if fire, death are related

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ Police are conducting a death investigation after a body was discovered behind a strip mall that caught fire Monday night in northeast Miami-Dade County.

The fire started after 11 p.m. at a strip mall at the corner of Northeast 148thĀ Street and Northeast Sixth Avenue.

Miami-Dade police homicide investigators were called and removed a body from the back of the strip mall just before 5 a.m.

Police said the fire started inside an electrical room behind the Marcel Beauty & Variety Store.Ā 

The owner told Local 10 News reporterĀ Trent KellyĀ that firefighters had to force their way inside the store to keep the flames from spreading. Eve Joseph said her business is now flooded with water from a broken pipe.

Neighboring business owners said they've seen people sleeping behind the shopping plaza in the past and have complained to the building owner about it.

Police said one other person was injured and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The victim's name and condition were not immediately known.

It's unclear if the death is connected to the fire.


About the Authors:

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.