AP, Florida :
Four people, including a driver of a UPS delivery truck, were killed Thursday after robbers stole the driver’s vehicle and led police on a chase that ended in gunfire at a busy south Florida intersection during rush hour, the FBI said.
Both robbers were killed in the dramatic shootout, and the fourth victim was in a nearby vehicle when shots rang out at a crowded intersection in Miramar, about 20 miles north of where the incident began, George Piro, FBI special agent in charge, said during a news conference Thursday night.
Television news helicopters showed first responders tending to at least one person who fell out of the UPS truck, moments after several shots were fired when the chase ended.
In Coral Gables, where the incident began, police said a jewelry store worker was also injured but did not say if she had been shot.
It all started shortly after 4pm, when police in Coral Gables received a silent alarm from inside the Regent Jewelers store in the city’s Miracle Mile area, about five miles west of Miami.
Coral Gables’ police chief, Ed Hudak, said that two suspects were at the store and they fled in a truck after the police arrived, then carjacked the UPS delivery truck and its driver, starting the chase, running red lights and narrowly avoiding crashes along the way. It was not clear Friday whether they stole any jewelry.
The UPS truck finally stopped in the middle of a busy roadway, caught behind a wall of other vehicles waiting for a red light to turn green. Television footage showed several officers on foot, some with guns drawn, approaching the truck from the rear and the driver’s side once it stopped.
Witness Katherine Gonzalez said officers were near her vehicle when “out of nowhere” the shooting started.
“It was shocking,” she said.
“We are deeply saddened to learn a UPS service provider was a victim of this senseless act of violence,” company spokesman David Graves said. “We extend our condolences to the family and friends of our employee and the other innocent victims.”
Four people, including a driver of a UPS delivery truck, were killed Thursday after robbers stole the driver’s vehicle and led police on a chase that ended in gunfire at a busy south Florida intersection during rush hour, the FBI said.
Both robbers were killed in the dramatic shootout, and the fourth victim was in a nearby vehicle when shots rang out at a crowded intersection in Miramar, about 20 miles north of where the incident began, George Piro, FBI special agent in charge, said during a news conference Thursday night.
Television news helicopters showed first responders tending to at least one person who fell out of the UPS truck, moments after several shots were fired when the chase ended.
In Coral Gables, where the incident began, police said a jewelry store worker was also injured but did not say if she had been shot.
It all started shortly after 4pm, when police in Coral Gables received a silent alarm from inside the Regent Jewelers store in the city’s Miracle Mile area, about five miles west of Miami.
Coral Gables’ police chief, Ed Hudak, said that two suspects were at the store and they fled in a truck after the police arrived, then carjacked the UPS delivery truck and its driver, starting the chase, running red lights and narrowly avoiding crashes along the way. It was not clear Friday whether they stole any jewelry.
The UPS truck finally stopped in the middle of a busy roadway, caught behind a wall of other vehicles waiting for a red light to turn green. Television footage showed several officers on foot, some with guns drawn, approaching the truck from the rear and the driver’s side once it stopped.
Witness Katherine Gonzalez said officers were near her vehicle when “out of nowhere” the shooting started.
“It was shocking,” she said.
“We are deeply saddened to learn a UPS service provider was a victim of this senseless act of violence,” company spokesman David Graves said. “We extend our condolences to the family and friends of our employee and the other innocent victims.”
