NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are working to put together three crime scenes after a food truck vendor was targeted by a robber in Northwest Miami-Dade and gunfire broke out.
It all began at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday in the area of Northwest 65th Street and 35th Avenue, as Miguel Diaz and his wife set up for their morning routine.
For nearly 20 years, the vendor and his wife have set up at the corner, a routine that turned dangerous for the first time that morning.
“They came and held us up at 10 in the morning,” said Diaz through a translator.
Miami-Dade Police responded to the scene after two victims in the food truck said a man armed with a gun approached them and tried to rob them.
“He got up into the truck, hit my wife, pointed the gun at her, then pointed the gun at me,” said Diaz. “At that moment, I had time to get my revolver and shot at him.”
The robber then took off, but he wouldn’t get far.
“One subject was injured and tried to flee the scene and would later be apprehended by a good Samaritan, a bystander, who happened to be in the area,” said Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez.
The Samaritan held the suspected robber down until police arrived and detained him.
The robber had tried to dispose of the gun he had, but police found it just yards away from the food truck.
Police established a second crime scene where the gun was found.
Complicating matters, during the confrontation between Diaz and the robber, a white car pulled up and opened fire on the victim.
“The two subjects that were in the white vehicle returned fire to the male victim that was firing upon the other person,” said Rodriguez.
Diaz shot back at them, hitting one of the subjects inside the car, and then the driver took off.
The subjects who were in the white car drove themselves to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where one of them was treated for a gunshot wound.
Police are questioning the driver of the vehicle. The connection with the attempted robber and the men in the car is being investigated by police detectives.
The car has since been surrounded by police tape, marking a third crime scene.
The two food truck victims and the good Samaritan are all said to be OK.
“We’re feeling normal, calm,” said Diaz. “It wasn’t our fault, but what are we going to do?”
Despite the witness’ intervention, police want to remind the public not to risk their lives by getting involved.
Police have not released the names of the suspect nor the two men in the white car.
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