MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Miami-Dade police officer fatally shot a man believed to have killed his wife Wednesday morning during an "extremely violent situation" at their home, police said.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said officers received a call about a domestic violence incident inside the gated Caribe Lakes community on Southwest 154th Court.
Perez said police believed "someone was potentially killing someone else." He said the first officer to arrive had to intervene and entered the home.
"What can only be described as a horrific scene, he found a deceased person," Perez said.
Perez said the officer encountered a man armed with a knife and was forced to fire, killing him.
"The officer potentially saved some lives today," Perez said. "Unfortunately, he had to take someone's life in the process."
Perez said the couple's children -- a young adult and teenager -- were also inside the home.
"We believe this is a husband and wife situation," Perez said. "The wife is dead on the scene as well from extreme trauma to the body."
Perez said the officer who shot the husband may have saved the children's lives, as it's unclear whether the man was going to target his children next.
"The officer potentially saved some lives today. Unfortunately, he had to take someone's life in the process," he said.
The incident was a shock to neighbor and friend Johnathan Diaz, who told Local 10 News that his young children were just playing with the couple's kids on Tuesday.
"They were playing basketball. They were playing (with) sidewalk chalk," Diaz said. "I was concerned, and then once I found out who it was, I was shocked."
Perez said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting, while Miami-Dade police homicide detectives will investigate the wife's death.
The couple's children are now staying with relatives. Authorities said the officer who fatally shot the suspect is a 17-year veteran of the force. They said he too is going through a difficult time after what he witnessed and experienced.
The victim's and suspect's identities have not yet been released.