Turnpike shut down temporarily due to reported explosive threat in SW Miami-Dade

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Police investigated an explosive threat reported near Southwest 18th Street and Southwest 121nd Avenue, Monday night, which forced the complete shutdown of the Florida Turnpike in the area.

Police said a call was made from Miami Beach referencing a hostage situation and an explosive threat inside an apartment on Southwest 18th Street. When police arrived there, the two people inside the apartment came outside and were unaware of any trouble.

“We saw all the cops were blocking everything,” said Edward Nunez, who was caught in the chaos.

A Miami-Dade Police helicopter was in the air and a Special Response Team also responded to the scene. “Once we sent our units over, we immediately utilized all our resources,” said Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta. “We closed off the nearby roadways for the safety of the residents.”

Miami-Dade Police tweeted at 10:48 p.m. that no threat had been identified during the preliminary investigation.

At around 9:38 p.m., Florida International University Police Tweeted that police activity was occurring west of the Florida Turnpike, near the FIU campus, and told students to avoid the west side of campus.

One FIU student in particular had a hard time making it home. “When I was trying to go home, they didn’t want to let us in,” said Abigail Shiu.

The Florida Turnpike was shut down in both directions between State Road 836 and Bird Road due to the investigation, according to Florida Highway Patrol. Police began to reopen it around 11:15 p.m.

“It’s messed up, you know,” said Nunez. “For someone to do something like that, and then cause all this commotion and all this trouble for no good reason, just as a prank.”

Police said they are now investigating who made the initial call.

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