The South Florida man accused of firing in the direction of a terminal at Miami International Airport while inebriated appeared in bond court to face serious charges.
Francisco Ivan Mendiola stood before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer, Thursday morning. The 31-year-old suspect faces several charges, including shooting or throwing deadly missiles into a dwelling, which is a second-degree felony.
“One count of shooting a deadly missile, one count of unlawful discharge of a firearm in a public place and two counts of criminal mischief,” said Glazer.
Wednesday afternoon, Mendiola was captured on cellphone video being taken into custody and placing him into a patrol car near the spot where, detectives said, he opened fire.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the suspect, who is homeless, was sitting on the second floor of a short-term parking garage at the airport when, at around 4 p.m., a deputy saw him load a gun and fire a shot toward the terminal, hitting a trash can.
In court Wednesday, the public attorney representing Mendiola argued on his behalf.
“There should be no probable cause cour count one, judge. There’s nothing indicating he’s shooting into a building. They’re saying he hits a trash can,” said the public defender.
But the state and the judge see the suspect’s actions differently.
“But it says he’s firing the rounds towards the occupied airport terminal That is a building,” said the state prosecutor.
“And it’s always occupied, with a lot of people,” said Glazer.
“He hit the trash can, but he was firing towards the terminal,” said the state prosecutor.
“And he also struck an unoccupied vehicle,” said Glazer.
In all, investigators said, Mendiola fired four shots; three of them hit the trash can, and one hit the windshield of an unoccupied Dodge Challenger.
The gunfire set off a ripple effect of panic and delays inside the airport.
A witness who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera told 7News that travelers were not allowed to exit the terminal or even deplane.
“I seen about like 25 cops, SWATs, like a lot of cops, assault rifles,” he said. “‘Don’t go outside, nobody’s allowed to go out, it’s an active shooting.’ And I’m like, ‘An active shooting?’ Kind of nerve-racking, you know?”
Deputies eventually shut down the departures entrance, forcing everyone downstairs to arrivals. MIA employees were even seen getting off buses to walk to the terminals to get to work.
“I saw a lot of people are running, especially the police,” said traveler Tariq Elmasaoudi. “The police come in with the guns, so it looks like something was very serious, yeah.”
“Lots of cops, looks like they had the roadway shut down over there,” said traveler Sean Johnson.
Mendiola’s bond was set at $26,000. He remains behind bars.