SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy was forced to open fire inside of a Southwest Miami-Dade home, fatally striking a man while deputies were conducting a search warrant that led them to take another man into custody, authorities said.
7News cameras captured a heavy presence from MDSO deputies and the department’s Special Response Team in the area of Southwest 155th Street and 102nd Place in the Palmetto Estates neighborhood, just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
According to Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, SRT units were serving a search warrant at a home that stems from a years-long investigation led by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, which is focused on individuals suspected of viewing and distributing child pornography.
“In this particular case, an over one-year investigation where the victims of child pornography and sexual abuse ranged from the ages of infancy to 6 years of age,” said Cordero-Stutz.
When they got to the home, deputies said, officials announced their arrival multiple times but nobody from inside the home responded. This led deputies to breach the home’s front door.
Surveillance video shows dozens of SRT units surrounding a white fence before one of them bangs on the fence with a sledgehammer. At the same time, a man begins speaking over a loudspeaker.
“Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office serving a warrant … put your hands up,” said the voice.
When they did that, deputies made contact with two adults and a child who were safely removed from the home.
Video shows a man, woman and child being evacuated from the home by responding units. The man, identified as the stepfather of the men involved, is seen being detained beside a car.
But moments later, the sheriff said, the situation turned deadly.
“At which point, a subject, armed, came to the door and confronted our deputies,” said Cordero-Stutz.
After the man refused to comply with deputies who asked him to drop the weapon, at least one deputy opened fire, striking the individual, investigators said.
“Our deputies fired their service weapon,” the sheriff said.
First responders rendered aid to the man.
“That individual succumbed [to his injuries] on the scene and passed away,” said Cordero-Stutz.
It remains unclear whether or not the subject fired his weapon at the deputies or how many deputies discharged their firearms.
Investigators said deputies located the target of the search warrant — the person accused of child porn offenses — and took them into custody.
“The search warrant for the ICAC was for one individual who is the one that is currently in custody,” said Cordero-Stutz. “[This] included trading in this type of pornography and sexual abuse as well as watching.”
7News cameras got an inside look at the home following the raid. In one of the walls, at least three bullet holes could be seen while piles of blood are spread out across the floor.
The mother of both men involved identified the deceased one as 21-year-old Christopher Barata and the one in custody as 25-year-old Cristian Barata.
She said she doesn’t understand what happened that led to her son being killed. She said both sons were Transportation Security Administration agents at Miami International Airport.
“They killed him in the living room. They killed my son. I can’t conceive it,” said the mother in Spanish.
She added that deputies should’ve done things differently
The stepfather of the men, Israel Lopez, told 7News what he heard early Tuesday morning.
“I heard bam, bam on the fence and when I realized, the SWAT team had surrounded the house,” said Lopez. “My wife is devastated. She has no life right now. One is in jail, one is dead.”
The family said they didn’t know Christopher had a gun and want to see video evidence of the incident.
While they conduct their investigation, Cordero-Stutz said their focus remains in safety and transparency.
“I ask the community that, if you have evidence, if you see something, this kind of a crime, the most heinous crime you can imagine — again, I mention these victims are between infants to 6 years of age — please let us know,” she said. “You can report it even through Crime Stoppers. That allows the opportunity to protect these innocent victims and not allow [these subjects] to have more victims.”
She added serving a warrant for these type of crimes are historically the most dangerous. No deputy was hurt.
Because this was a deputy-involved shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over part of the investigation.
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