SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man was shot and killed after he fatally gunned down a man and shot at police when he barricaded himself inside an apartment at a complex in Southwest Miami-Dade, authorities said.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, an emotional family member of the victim identified him after she rushed to the crime scene near Southwest 200th Street and 113th Place.
“He is my cousin. His name was Jean Gutierrez,” she said.
Police officers and SWAT teams surrounded the apartment unit after, detectives said, the gunman opened fire, striking the victim.
The family member, who asked not to be identified, said her 38-year-old cousin was shot and killed.
“Very sad, very sad. The victim was a young man who never causes trouble,” she said. “He was a hard worker. Too much violence in this world, so little services of help.”
According to Miami-Dade Police, that violence began late Thursday night and continued into early Friday morning.
Police arrived at the scene at around 10 p.m. on Thursday after they received several calls of gunfire.
Officials said the suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Donovan Watson, shot the victim at random. Detectives said Watson didn’t even know the victim.
“The subject, once the officers arrived, he ran back into his apartment and barricaded himself inside the apartment,” said Miami-Dade Police detective Alvaro Zabaleta.
Investigators said MDPD called in their special response team and negotiators.
“The shooter is on the line with the desk. He wants to step out to you. I told him not to step out, to let the units come to him,” said a dispatcher in radio transmissions. “He’s in Apartment number 103.”
At one point, negotiations took a bad turn, and at around 3 a.m. on Friday, the special response team sent in a robot.
“As the robot approached the apartment, this individual opened fire, shooting the robot, disabling it, and that’s when he stepped out of the apartment, opened fire, shooting at our special response teams, striking their vehicle multiple times,” said Zabaleta.
Police said the officers were forced to shoot back.
“Our special response teams returned fire, struck the individual, and he was pronounced deceased on the scene,” said Zabaleta.
Due to the investigation, authorities blocked off a section of Southwest 200th Street between Southwest 112th and 114th avenues for hours while they investigated.
Friday night, the Medical Examiner’s Office removed Watson’s body from the building.
7News cameras captured Watson’s family members after they came to the complex.
“My brother, he’s the one who taught me to be strong,” said Adrianna Osullivan, Watson’s sister.
“He just was under stress, and it caused him to have a sudden episode,” said Amaya Osullivan, Watson’s sister.
“Everything that happened, that he did and that he locked himself, that’s not him,” said Jennie Almodovar, a friend of Watson. “Something was going on. Mental health, take it seriously.”
No officers were hurt during the shooting.
Police continue to investigate.
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