HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - An off-duty Miami-Dade Police officer was shot by his estranged ex-girlfriend outside his family’s home in Hialeah, according to reports, sending him to the hospital in critical condition and leading officers to place her under arrest.
On Saturday according to officers, Yessenia Sanchez confessed to the crime. She remains in jail and held with no bond. Sanchez is being charged with first degree attempted murder.
Friday afternoon, 7News cameras captured law enforcement officers from multiple agencies as they stood outside Ryder Trauma Center.
Relief could be seen on their faces as they were given an update on the injured officer hours after, police said, he was shot during a domestic incident.
“He’s out of surgery, and he’s been moved over to a room. His family is with him right now,” said MDPD Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III.
Police said the officer, who has been on the force for 17 years, has since been listed in critical but stable condition.
Law enforcement sources confirmed the officer is named Damian Colon.
Ramirez said he and his brothers in blue remain hopeful about Colon’s recovery.
“He’s still with us, and we want to ride that positivity,” he said. “We ask that the community ride that positivity with us for him and his family.”
According to detectives, Colon was off-duty Friday morning when he and his ex-girlfriend had some sort of argument.
The Miami Herald reported that the alleged shooter is Colon’s ex-girlfriend, 32-year-old Yessenia Sanchez, and she shares a child with the officer.
According to the report, the victim was in his pickup truck outside his family’s home, located near West 79th Street and 13th Avenue in Hialeah, when Sanchez pulled up to the home and blocked him in. As Colon walked to the porch, Sanchez followed behind and shot him.
The report states Sanchez drove off and crashed a few miles away.
7SkyForce hovered overhead to capture the shooting scene taped off and a pool of blood on the driveway.
Colon was transported to Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery.
“We know it’s a gunshot wound to the head,” said Ramirez.
The Hialeah Police Department is the lead investigator in this case. Detectives said the suspect is a former Miami-Dade Schools Police officer and confirmed she was taken into custody.
Sanchez has since been arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
This isn’t her first run-in with the law. According to a September 2021 arrest report, she was arrested for another domestic dispute over child care.
7News has not confirmed if the boyfriend in the 2021 incident was Colon, but the arrest report states Sanchez and her boyfriend at the time were law enforcement officers.
The report further states Sanchez threw an object at her boyfriend, held a weapon to her own head and began punching and scratching the boyfriend.
Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava was also seen at the hospital; she spoke at a news conference.
“I just want everyone to know that we are all praying as a community, and we’re hopeful,” said Levine Cava. “We’re hopeful that this will come out well, and so we ask the whole community to join us, please, in prayers and in hope.”
Meanwhile, officials continue asking for prayers and well wishes, hoping for a speedy recovery.
“I know him very well. He’s a good man and works hard. He’s a family man, he has children,” said Ramirez.
Late Friday afternoon, police officers were seen guarding Colon’s home. His truck has since been towed away from the scene.
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