WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An armed subject wanted in connection to a hate crime is dead following a police-involved shooting near Miami International Airport.
A woman who lives in the area took out her cellphone and captured the moment dozens of gunshots rang out by the dozen at the intersection of Northwest Seventh Street and 72nd Avenue, in West Miami-Dade, just before 10 p.m., Thursday.
“My wife saw because we live in that building,” said the witness’ husband, Jorge Pescador. “She saw from the balcony.”
City of Miami Police, Miami-Dade Police and the FBI were in pursuit of a suspect identified as as 40-year-old Alexander Carballido.
“He was involved in a hate crime investigation,” said FBI Special Agent Brian Waterman.
According to 7News sources, Carballido was wanted for a home invasion and hate crime in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood on Wednesday night.
Surveillance video captured the suspect, a handgun in his right hand, after he entered the victim’s rear apartment under false pretenses.
The footage goes on to show Carballido forcing the 36-year-old occupant to take his clothes off at gunpoint. At one point, the suspect is seen pointing his gun directly at the victim’s head and threatening to kill him, all while using gay slurs.
The video then shows Carballido ransacking the room before pistol-whipping and robbing the victim.
The police report states, “The offender then demanded the victim to provide any homosexual males’ phone numbers, so he could commit another robbery.”
Carballido spent most of his life in trouble with the law, with dozens of aliases over the years. He has also been known as Alex Diaz, “Fat Boy,” “Gordo” and “Jelly Roll.”
His extensive rap sheet in Miami-Dade County dates back to 1996, with arrests ranging from marijuana possession and grand theft to attempted murder.
In 2007, he was arrested after a crime spree that involved attempting to run down a Miami-Dade Police officer with a car, tossing his girlfriend out of the vehicle, crashing multiple times and threatening another woman with a machete.
He was released from jail in July after serving 10 years.
A picture posted to Facebook around that time showed him posing with a dog. Another photo shows wads of $100 bills.
The FBI said Carballido was a serious threat to the public, but his life of crime ended in a hail of bullets Thursday night.
“The FBI was investigating a fugitive case,” said Waterman. “The subject of this case fled the scene, and he was armed.”
A chase ensued that ended at the intersection where, authorities said, shots were exchanged between the Carballido and officers.
“Just about 180 shots going off, ‘bah, bah, bah, bah,'” said one witness, who did not wish to be identified. “Gunshot could have hit me, could have hit anybody in the area. He could have hit a cop.”
Officials said Carballido opened fire first. They confirmed he was killed at the scene.
Investigators said Carballido was armed with a high-powered rifle, which was recovered from the front seat of his silver Nissan sedan.
“There were no injuries to the general public or law enforcement officers,” said Waterman.
The unidentified witness said the fact that no one else was hurt is nothing less than a miracle.
“We’ve got to thank God that we’re all alive,” he said, “because dangerous people like that could have anybody killed.”
A heavy police presence was visible overnight near MIA as federal officials continued to investigate.
The damage from the shootout was still visible Friday afternoon. 7News cameras captured a white minivan with a bullet hole on the passenger side front window.
Northwest Seventh Street and 72nd Avenue remained shut down throughout Friday morning. However, by noon, police had cleared the scene, and Carballido’s bullet-ridden Nissan had been towed away.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the police-involved shooting portion of the incident.
The victim in the Allapattah home invasion suffered a cut to the head, and several valuables, including jewelry, were taken from his home.
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