A masked gunman stormed a used car dealership in south Florida and opened fire – injuring one person and killing his own half brother before he, too, was shot.
The mass shooting unfolded at around 1pm on Thursday at Price Right Motors in a warehouse district of Miami, when the unidentified shooter allegedly pulled out a rifle and started firing at the store’s owner, Eddie Rivero, 38, WSVN reports.
It is now believed that the shooter is Rivero’s half brother, as Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz claimed at a news conference Thursday night that the two brothers had an ongoing dispute when the shooter arrived at the dealership and got into a confrontation with Rivero.
‘This unfortunate situation is domestic-related and not a random act of violence,’ she clarified Thursday night, according to NBC Miami.
A family member had earlier explained to CBS Miami that the shooting stemmed from a ‘misunderstanding’ between the two men.
After the gunman opened fire on his brother and injured another unidentified victim, he may have turned the rifle on himself, law enforcement sources suggested to Local 10 News – though officials have not yet confirmed whether the shooting was an attempted murder-suicide.
All three victims were rushed to the nearby HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where Rivero underwent surgery Thursday afternoon, before succumbing to his injuries.
The unidentified shooter, meanwhile, remained in critical condition Thursday night while the third victim was in stable condition, Cordero-Stutz said.
Eddie Rivero, 38, was shot and killed at the used car dealership he owns in Miami on Thursday – reportedly by his own half brother
Details about the moments leading up to the shooting remained unclear Thursday evening, but Carlos Martinez – the owner of nearby Eddie’s Cake Company – said he was on the phone with his sales manager at the time.
‘He says to me that, “Hold on, there’s a guy with a gun at the dealer,”‘ Martinez recounted to NBC Miami. ‘He goes “Hey, I’ll call you back, there’s a guy with a gun.”
But Martinez said he stayed on the line with his sales manager, who told how Rivero started to speak to the man while he had a gun pointed at him.
‘He’s telling the guy “Don’t do it, don’t do it, you don’t have to do this,”‘ the bakery owner said, noting that his sales manager told him the gunman had a mask obscuring his face.
At that point, Martinez said, a female deputy entered the business – unaware of the situation inside.
‘My sales manager screams out, “He’s got a gun,”‘ Martinez said.
‘Apparently the shooter then turns around and is pointing the gun at the cop and talking to the cop… but I guess he turns back to the [dealership] owner and shoots the owner, I believe twice.
‘The police officer takes off, the shooter grabs a rifle… and starts shooting towards wherever the cop was.
‘Then everyone went inside and all the sudden, they started hearing all kinds of gunfire.’
Heavily armed Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies, police and officers from the Florida Highway Patrol swarmed the scene and opened fire
Some were carrying riot shields with their weapons drawn as they set up a perimeter outside of the dealership
Videos posted on social media showed the chaotic scene unfolding from a nearby store, where people could be seen scrambling for cover as the shots rang out.
Soon, heavily armed Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputies, police and officers from the Florida Highway Patrol swarmed the scene and opened fire.
Some were carrying riot shields with their weapons drawn as they set up a perimeter outside of the dealership.
SWAT officers were also seen inspecting vehicles parked outside, according to the US Sun.
But no deputies were injured in the shootout, Cordero-Stutz said.
‘We are very grateful that there were not more or additional victims due to this situation and that our deputies were not injured during this situation,’ she told reporters.
At least 23 children from Idol Cheer – a cheerleading training camp near the dealership – were forced to hunker down behind crime scene tape
One father claimed nearly an hour passed between when the shots were fired and deputies reuniting the girls with their parents
As they were escorted out, some of the girls saw people lying on the ground, bleeding – despite deputies’ efforts to shield their eyes
Meanwhile, at least 23 children from Idol Cheer – a cheerleading training camp near the dealership – were forced to hunker down behind crime scene tape.
Rudy Sorondo, a strength trainer whose 10-year-old daughter was at the cheerleading camp, told the Miami Herald how he was with a client when he received an alert about a possible active shooter.
‘It was madness,’ he said, noting that nearly an hour passed between when the shots were fired and deputies reuniting the girls with their parents.
When they finally did emerge, some of the girls saw people lying on the ground, bleeding – despite deputies’ efforts to shield their eyes.
‘The girls were freaking out,’ Sorondo said. ‘They never saw that much blood, let alone from gunfire.’
Both a pistol and a rifle have now been recovered from the scene.
Still, police are continuing to investigate the shooting – and although they say there is no ongoing threat to the public they are asking residents to avoid the area.
