MIAMI (WSVN) - Police have identified the woman who was shot and killed after, they said, officers were forced to return fire while they served an eviction notice in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.
Miami-Dade Police said 40-year-old Stephanie Nicole Voiken is the woman who first fired at officers while they carried out an eviction letter at Brickell First Apartments, in the area of Southwest 12th Street and First Avenue, Tuesday afternoon.
According to someone familiar with the eviction, Voiken had been squatting in an apartment on the 22nd floor for over a year.
They added the 40-year-old never had a lease for the unit, and she first came to the building for a party but never left. She then put a sign on the door threatening to shoot anyone who entered the apartment.
“It’s a little bizarre, especially in a building like this,” Brickell First resident Bianca Routt said. “We weren’t allowed to leave for hours, and they actually sent us a paper this morning that said an incident occurred.”
“We’re told it’s very safe here, and it’s Brickell,” Brickell First resident Alisa Salmanova said. “What could possibly happen here? When I was leaving around 2, 3 p.m. — something like that — I saw a bunch of police cars here, like, 20 of them maybe. Everything was blocked.”
According to police, when the eviction task force knocked on Voiken’s door to serve the notice, she fired at officers, who had bulletproof protective shields.
“As our officers made contact with the subject, the subject fired a firearm at our officers,” Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez said after the shooting. “Our officers returned fire. Our officers were prepared and trained, and it’s just an unfortunate outcome, but they fired at my officer.”
Voiken was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where she was pronounced dead. No officers were hurt during the confrontation.
Building residents like Routt said they knew very little about Voiken.
“I know the woman really kept to herself, and she had a couple of pets,” Routt said. “I saw her once in the elevator, and she was kind of standoffish, a little bit aggressive, like not very friendly, you know? Everyone in Miami is pretty forthcoming, so it was a little bit strange.”
Residents woke up in the morning to find a note from building management about the incident.
“We received this morning the paper from the administration saying everything has been resolved,” Salmanova said.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators are handling the shooting investigation, which is protocol whenever an officer is involved in a shooting.
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