SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man who works at a tattoo shop in Southwest Miami-Dade is speaking out and sharing his story after, police said, armed robbers ambushed him outside of the business and opened fire, sending him to the hospital.
Cesar Sanchez said he was shot in the back outside the Eazy Street Tattoos shop, located near the 13000 block of Southwest 56th Street. The 29-year-old spoke with 7News over the phone from the hospital on Friday.
“I’m in a lot of pain. They shot one time only, but the bullet broke into 10 different pieces, so I have like four pieces near my spine, some near my kidney,” he said.
Sanchez posted a video to his Instagram account on Friday where he is seen giving a rude hand gesture.
He described the frightening moment when a robbery turned into a shooting.
“I’m about to go open the door, and his friend puts a gun to my face, and he tells me, ‘Don’t move, give me all your jewelry,” he said.
According to Miami-Dade Police, Sanchez and another employee were ambushed by two gunmen, leaving Sanchez shot.
“Responding to a shooting. It seems a person was shot at the tattoo shop,” a first responder said over the Broadcastify police scanner.
Sanchez said one of the two subjects was his client, who came in wanting to get a tattoo. When Sanchez, the client and the client’s friend went out back to smoke, the client’s friend put a gun to Sanchez’s head. Sanchez slapped the gun out of the subject’s hand and started running, but one of the subjects shot him in the back.
Newly released surveillance video shows the moment one of the subjects fired their weapon as Sanchez tried to run back into the tattoo shop. A subject wearing a blue hoodie helped assist by holding the door open.
“The subjects took the victim’s property and fled the scene in a vehicle in an unknown direction,” said MDPD spokesperson Andre Martin.
A bystander rushed Sanchez to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he is now in stable condition.
The second victim was not injured during the incident.
“This could’ve been a very tragic incident,” said Martin. “It could’ve turned out a lot worse than it did. Obviously, the shopping center at 8 p.m. at night has multiple people, some families frequenting these businesses, so we are just glad that no one was killed in this incident.”
Police are working with Sanchez and witnesses to find the subjects behind the incident.
“So detectives are working with a lot of evidence and information on the scene, which is a good thing. We have witnesses that are being interviewed by our detectives, and you can imagine, a modern-day shopping center has a plethora of technology that can assist us in the situation,” said Martin.
People who work in the area said incidents like this never occur in the area.
Sanchez said that since he knows the gunman was one of his clients, he hopes police can make an arrest as soon as possible.
After reaching out to Miami-Dade Police, as of Friday night, there are no updates on any arrests being made.
If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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