One dead. Early reports were a white man with a beard, but now they have a picture up. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/13/miami. ... index.html
another report: Apparently, not as bad as first reported. Thankfully! Yahoo! News Miami-Dade officer killed, 3 wounded 1 hour, 2 minutes ago A gunman killed a police officer and injured three others during a traffic stop Thursday, triggering a manhunt in a suburban Miami neighborhood, officials said. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez confirmed that one of the officers died. All four had been brought to hospitals, but authorities refused to release further information on them because they were trying to notify their families. The officers were conducting burglary surveillance when they stopped the man because he was driving a car erratically, said Linda O'Brien, a police spokeswoman. The man opened fire with a high-powered weapon and fled. It was not immediately clear if the officers returned fire. TV footage showed several officers briefly surrounding a house, guns drawn, before moving on. Others swept through a grassy area on foot and picked through a garbage truck. Authorities were looking for 30-year-old Kevin Wehner, last seen driving a white Honda Accord, O'Brien said. There was a chance another man also was involved. Investigators believed they had recovered a vehicle and a gun used in the shooting, O'Brien said. No other details were immediately available. Cutler Bay is a suburb southwest of downtown Miami. Several schools were locked down due to the search. Two other officers were shot separately last month in neighboring Broward County. One was killed, the other badly injured.
At least, a reasonably happy ending... Yahoo! News Suspect in Fla. police shooting killed By DAVID FISCHER, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 4 minutes ago A gunman opened fire on four Miami-Dade County police officers during a traffic stop Thursday, killing one and injuring the other three. Police killed the suspect hours later, authorities said. Dozens of officers from police departments across South Florida had been searching for 12 hours for the suspect, who investigators identified as Shawn Sherwin Labeet, 25. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said Labeet was found shortly before midnight Thursday in a Pembroke Pines apartment complex about 30 miles north of the initial shooting scene. "There was an exchange of gunfire and the subject was shot and killed," Alvarez said. He said the family of the dead officer was informed of Labeet's death. "They asked us for one thing," Alvarez said. "They asked us to catch the subject. Well, I'm happy to report that shortly before midnight, we found the subject." Alvarez identified the dead officer as Jose Somohano, 37, a married father of two. Another officer, Jody Wright, 31, underwent several hours of surgery to repair her severely injured leg. The other two officers were treated and released. The officers were conducting burglary surveillance in the Cutler Bay area of southern Miami-Dade County when they stopped the man because he was driving a car erratically, police spokeswoman Linda O'Brien said. The man opened fire with a high-powered weapon without warning and fled. It was not immediately clear whether the officers returned fire. Labeet, who may have been wearing a bulletproof vest, fled in his car, which was found abandoned 5 miles away, officials said. An AK-47 assault rifle was found inside, Alvarez said. It wasn't immediately known if it was the weapon used in the shooting. Labeet's girlfriend had earlier given officers the name of another man, Alvarez said. Investigators wasted several hours looking for him before he came forward hundreds of miles away in Jacksonville, hearing that he was wanted. He was not involved in the shooting. "I'm sure she'll be facing some charges," Alvarez said of Labeet's girlfriend. Several schools were locked down during the search in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, in suburban Miami. Two other officers were shot separately last month in neighboring Broward County. One was killed, the other badly injured.
Turned out to be somebody else entirely. I wonder if the first guy even knew they were looking for him.
One of the guys on Zombie Squad is an LEO in Miami, and was one of the first on the scene after the shooting. Thoughts & prayers out.
Another Sudden Jihadi?? Someone posted on 10-8 that the guy was shouting "Allahu Akhbar!" at the scene. http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/sh ... ge=0#53773 My google fu is weak right now and the only other mention of this I've found is this site: http://wordsandwar.com/2007/09/13/sudde ... n-florida/ and this one: http://conservablogs.com/nuke/2007/09/1 ... community/ Several articles/postings mention he had a long beard at the time of the shooting. This may have stemmed from the false name given to police by an aquaintance. http://schnittshow.970wfla.com/schnitt2007ii.html
If he were truly shouting "al akhbar" then the cops are lucky the weren't blown up. That phrase is translated as meaning "God is great" and apparently is heard from suicide bombers prior to detonation.
IF true . . . it will not be reported in the mainstream media. But it is likely to make it into the police report.
Once solely found in the hands of soldiers, high-powered assault weapons like the one police said was used in Thursday's attack are becoming the guns of choice for gang members and other violent criminals. And when they are aimed at officers on patrol, there's little authorities can do to escape "It's almost like we have water pistols going up against these high-powered rifles," said John Rivera, president of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/ ... TE=DEFAULT