Suspect arrested in connection with fatal shooting at Opa-locka apartment building

Suspect, gunman had been arguing for weeks before shooting, relatives say

OPA-LOCKA, Fla. – A suspect has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Opa-locka, Miami-Dade police announced Thursday. 

Detectives said the suspect, Carlos Flores, tried to flee to Georgia.

Surveillance video captured the shooting the night of Jan. 8 at an Opa-locka apartment building on Washington and Northwest 22nd avenues.

"I felt a bad vibe. I said, 'I'm going to wait for you.' And he's like, 'No. Go and I'll catch up with you,'" the victim's wife, Khristine Mitchell, said. 

The video shows the gunman walking down the hallway with his arm tucked under his shirt.

He stops, hides behind a wall and waites for the victim, Wayne Mitchell, 50.

Once the victim passes, the gunman follows him, pulls out a gun and shoots the victim, leaving his lifeless body on the floor.

"He did not deserve it. He did not deserve it at all," Khristine Mitchell said.  

The owner of the building told Local 10 News that Flores is a tenant and that he was seen heading back to his apartment unit after the shooting. 

He was seen leaving the area on a bicycle.

Wayne Mitchell's relatives told Local 10 News that he and his wife had lived at the apartment building for four years.

They said Flores and Wayne Mitchell had been arguing for weeks, which led to the shooting. 

It's unclear what the argument was about.

"He was a good person," Khristine Mitchell said. "He didn't bother nobody, he didn't trouble nobody. He worked very hard."

Relatives said Wayne Mitchell's funeral will be held next week. 

 
 


About the Author

Alex Finnie joined the Local 10 News team in May 2018. South Florida is home! She was raised in Miami and attended the Cushman School and New World School of the Arts for high school.

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