MIAMI (WSVN) - Investigators are looking into the death of an armed suspect who was confronted by police outside his Miami apartment.
Just before 3 a.m., police responded to a suspicious man inside a high-rise located on the 3400 block of East Coast Avenue, Tuesday.
There were some scary moments for Jim Wallin, who woke up early Wednesday morning to the sound of gunshots and knocking at his door from police.
“I opened the door, and there were about three to four police officers with their weapons drawn– not to me, not my direction, but something serious was obviously going on,” Wallin said.
Officers blocked off roads near the Shops at Midtown Miami as they investigated the scene.
Detectives, along with SWAT teams with rifles and tactical gear were on the scene to help with the investigation.
According to police, they received a call about a man brandishing a firearm in the lobby area.
“He seemed like a very even tempered guy no issues whatsoever,” Wallin said.
When police arrived, a witness took them to an apartment, and when officers knocked on the door they were confronted by an armed suspect. This forced police officers to shoot their weapons.
The suspect then shut the door and barricaded himself inside a room of the structure; the entire 16th floor was evacuated as a precaution.
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said no contact was made but music could be heard coming from inside the suspect’s room.
“The officers saw him shut the door and maintained contact and visual on the apartment door, so we knew that he hadn’t left,” said Morales.
After hours of negotiating, SWAT officers entered the room to find the suspect unresponsive; he was pronounced dead by Miami Fire Rescue.
“It was very shocking to find out, number one, that it’s the person directly next to me in a building of hundreds of different units, but just a tragic situation however it unfolded,” Wallin said. “It’s a tragedy, so again my thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
Kennedi Perri, who lives on the 12th floor of the building, said she was woken up by the commotion.
“We didn’t really realize until we came out this morning,” said Perri. “We did a Google search on our phone and saw what was going on, so [it was] a little alarming, but I’m glad that everyone’s here. It seems the police inside were doing what they need to do.”
Police have not released the armed suspect’s identity until the next of kin has been notified.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Miami Police Internal Affairs Unit are investigating.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.