Gunfight at South Florida bar leaves two dead and seven injured
When a security guard intervened in a fight, a man took out a gun and shot and killed the security guard. Two off-duty officers returned fire, killing the assailant. Six other bystanders were also hit by gunfire, with two hospitalized in critical condition.
DORAL — A gunfight at a suburban Miami bar has left two people dead and seven injured.
Investigators said a fight broke out around 3:30 a.m. Saturday at the Martini Bar at the CityPlace Doral mall in Doral, Florida. When a security guard intervened, an unnamed man took out a gun and shot and killed the security guard, Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said.
Two off-duty Doral police officers who were also providing security returned fire, with one of them killing the shooter. One of the officers, a four-year veteran of the force, was shot in the leg and applied a tourniquet to himself, Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez told reporters.
Six other bystanders were also hit by gunfire — five men and a woman, Lopez said.
The wounded officer has been released from a hospital, WTVJ-TV reported. The six bystanders remain hospitalized, with two in critical condition, Zabaleta said.
A resident of a nearby apartment told WPLG-TV that he heard a hail of gunfire.
“Around 3:15 or 3:30 in the morning, I heard three initial gunshots,” said William Suedois. “Didn’t really know where it was coming from. I thought it was fireworks. Then I heard probably 10 or 15 directly after that — very, very fast and very loud. It was very scary — very scary.”
Zabaleta said it’s “way too early to know” who shot who.
He said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shootings, while Miami-Dade Police are investigating the two deaths. Investigators also said Saturday they could not yet say why the fight broke out. Officers continued to interview witnesses at the bar well after sunrise Saturday, while parts of the mall remained roped off as crime scene technicians gathered evidence.
The security guard who was killed has not yet been identified.