Miami-Dade officers chase, shoot man running with gun near Brownsville park, cops say

Miami-Dade officers chased and shot a man brandishing a gun Wednesday night near a Brownsville park where children were playing, police said, causing people to run for cover.

Around 7 p.m., police tried to stop a dark-colored Nissan over a traffic violation, but officers said he sped away until he crashed into a parked car and a fence near Northwest 50th Street and 24th Avenue.

Police said the man, armed with a gun, hopped out of the car and ran across Marva Y. Bannerman Park as children and adults were enjoying the evening.

In a video, an officer can be heard screaming, “Drop the gun!” as the man ran away from him. Then, gunshots are heard and the man falls forward. After he hit the ground, the gunshots continued for a few seconds.

“They are still shooting,” a bystander can be heard saying.

The man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. At the crime scene, officers said they found a gun.

Miami-Dade police justified shooting the man.

“At the end of the day, you have an individual that’s fleeing from officers with a firearm in their hand,” Miami-Dade Detective Alvaro Zabaleta told reporters near the park. “You don’t know what that person’s intentions are at the time.”

Zabaleta said officers told the man to drop the gun multiple times.

A video from a different angle shows people running from the park’s basketball court after hearing the gunfire.

“You of course see him running through a park, where you’re visually seeing children playing,” Zabaleta said. “That’s something that clearly is a concern.”