DORAL — Two people were killed — including a gunman — and seven people were injured after a brawl erupted into gunfire at a Miami-Dade mall early Saturday morning.
According to police, an argument between patrons on the patio of Martini Bar at CityPlace Doral prompted a security guard to intervene. At that time, one of the participants in the fight suddenly pulled out a gun, shot and killed the security officer.
As a result, the rest of the establishment’s security began exchanging fire with the suspect and killed him as well. During the shooting, six other people at the scene were also injured: two women and four men, along with a Doral police officer who was shot in the leg.
Police said during a news conference shortly before 8 a.m. that two of them were critically injured and transported to Jackson Trauma and HCA Kendall Regional Trauma, respectively; the other five, including the officer, are said to be in stable condition, with one also transported to JMH and the other victims transported to HCA Kendall.
At JMH, a man whose cousin was among the injured told CBS News Miami they suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. A witness to the shooting told CBS News Miami that they saw another security guard almost lose a finger.
Police also said the officer shot in the shooting had been on the force for four years and had deployed his tourniquet at the time of the incident. CBS News Miami was able to see the officer being transported to JMH and physically carried by his colleagues into the emergency room early Saturday morning.
Doral police told CBS News Miami Sunday morning that the officer is now home and expected to make a full recovery.
Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez also noted that just one year ago, his officers had extensive training for a mass casualty incident at that location, and he and Doral Mayor Christy Fraga were grateful that officers had this type of training before then. .
Fraga shared a statement to X about the incident, saying the shooting happened around 4 a.m. and that she is praying and thinking about the victims and their families.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and people affected by this terrible incident,” she said. “I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the police officers who responded quickly to the call.
Doral residents who spoke to CBS News Miami said they were stunned to learn what happened in their town on Saturday.
“We were shocked that this happened, especially in a safe place like CityPlace Doral,” said local resident Luis Colon.
The owners of Martini Bar provided the following statement to CBS News Miami:
“Our hearts are broken by the tragedy that occurred at our facility early this morning, which claimed the life of a dedicated security guard and injured several others. Our staff, patrons and this community are like family to us and we are completely shocked by this senseless act of violence and we are working hard to ensure that everyone affected by this feels supported in every way possible and that we are fully cooperating with everyone authorities all of us for a long time to come and we are here for our community today and always.”
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levine Cava also shared a statement with X, saying in part that she hopes the Doral Police Department and the community can recover from the tragedy.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is further investigating the circumstances leading up to the shooting.
CBS News Miami had a crew at the scene of the shooting and the hospital where some of the victims were transported to gather more information throughout Saturday.
