David Ovalle and Carli Teproff
Miami Herald
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A gunman opened fire on officers Wednesday in South Miami-Dade, peppering three cops cars with bullets, but injuring no one.
The shooting — which is the third time since July 24 that a gunman has fired on Miami-Dade officers — sparked a manhunt late Wednesday in the Perrine area.
“Another close call tonight as members of our Homicide Bureau’s Street Violence Task Force are fired upon while doing their job in South Miami-Dade,” Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez said in a tweet. “Thankfully, the Officers are ok but we need tips to identify the shooter(s).”
Wednesday’s shooting happened on the 10000 block of Southwest 173rd Terrace. Members of the task force were looking for a suspect in the area when someone opened fire. Bullets struck three unmarked police cars. A picture showed the door of a truck with at least four bullet holes.
“This is the third time in two weeks that cops have been shot at,” said Steadman Stahl, the Miami-Dade police union president.
On Saturday, a fugitive shot a Miami-Dade police officer in his bulletproof vest, forcing officers to fire back. The 56-year-old man, who sources identified as James Justin Munro, was killed. Munro was wanted after for shooting at officers in Henderson County, North Carolina, authorities said Saturday.
Eight days prior, on July 24, Ariel Ruiz Martinez, 46, was killed after an “exchange of gunfire” with cops from Miami-Dade’s Priority Response Team. Police said Martinez had shot and wounded an acquaintance of his estranged wife outside her house on the 7600 block of Southwest 153rd Court, drove erratically, and then hit a construction sign.
Anyone with information on Wednesday’s shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).
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