Miami-Dade sheriff's investigators swarm home near Sweetwater after apparent murder-suicide
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office is investigating an apparent murder-suicide following a Friday morning crash and shooting that turned out to be connected.
The investigation began as a shooting
The sheriff's office said around 10:30 a.m., they received reports of a shooting in front of a home at 1075 NW 127 Path, which is just south of the Dolphin Expressway and west of the Florida Turnpike.
"When deputies arrived on scene, they observed an adult female lying on the ground suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded and determined that she was deceased," Miami-Dade Sheriff's public information Deputy Joseph Peguero said.
He said the woman was in her early 30s. MDSO specified in a later press release that the woman was 29.
Neighbors said a man with a gun walked up to the home and shot the woman, killing her. They said they heard two gunshots, and that the gunman and the woman had been a couple at one time.
Surveillance video obtained by CBS News Miami captured the moment the woman was killed in the home's driveway. In the video, she had just pulled up in a car and was sitting in the driver's seat. The passengers then get out and walk to the side of the home. Two minutes later, he returns.
From another angle, the man shoots the woman and drags her out of the car. Seconds later, he takes off in the car and that's when her body was discovered by someone inside the home. At this time, a sanitation truck happened to drive by, and the worker was visibly shaken.
"I'm messed up right now," they said. "I called the cops."
Sheriff's investigators have not confirmed this information.
The sheriff's office later learned of a crash connected to the case
Peguero said shortly after deputies arrived at the home, the sheriff's office received a 911 call about a collision on SW 107 Avenue, between SW 3 Street and SW 4 Street, in Sweetwater.
"Once the City of Sweetwater responded to the accident, the officers were able to determine that one of the drivers sitting in a vehicle was suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. There were several other vehicles involved, and luckily, every other driver involved was okay," he said.
The man with the gunshot wound, who Peguero said was in his late 40s, was taken to an area hospital where he died. MDSO specified in a later press release that the man was 48. The other driver involved in the crash was taken to the hospital, where he's expected to be okay.
Peguero confirmed the two scenes are connected.
He said investigators are trying to determine if the man shot himself before or after the crash.
People in the area were shocked by the massive crash they witnessed.
"The one car involved in the crash and takes the palm out, and crosses the avenue and crashes the other car," said Angelo Romo, who saw the collision.
MDSO said in a later press release that the man and woman were in a relationship, but the circumstances surrounding the shooting and crash remain under investigation.
