Dramatic SHOOT OUT between police and kidnapper at Miami International Airport
A SHOOT OUT between the FBI and a kidnapper has left one person dead near Miami International Airport, officials have said.
Miami airport: Dramatic shootout between police and kidnapper
The police attended the scene in response to a “wanted subject” who started firing shots at officers, according to the Miami Police Department.
The suspect was shot dead in the dramatic stand-off, there were no other reported injuries.
Kiara Delva, a Miami police spokeswoman, said:“The FBI were searching for a subject.
"They located him off Northwest 57th Avenue and Seventh Street.
“The FBI requested assistance from the City of Miami, Miami-Dade and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"Shots were fired and the subject is deceased.”
In video which circulated on social media and taken from a balcony nearby, dozens of gunshots can be heard being fired, while a woman screams: "Oh my God, oh my God!"
FBI spokesman Brian Waterman said: "The FBI was investigating a fugitive case. The suspect of this investigation fled the scene. And he was armed.
"The suspect was involved in a hate crime investigation."
An onlooker told the Herald "it was like a war" and noted police and helicopters were following the suspect.
Miami airport: High police presence after shootout
She added the shooting began on 57th Avenue and ended near 72nd Avenue.
The woman said: “There was a car chase.
“They were exchanging fire until police surrounded them.
"It looked like a war.”
Another eyewitness added: "It sounded like gunshots. A lot of gunshots. Boom, boom, boom. Like a machine gun, like an AK-47."
Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said none of the officers involved or nearby passersby were hurt.
He added: “He did shoot at our officers and we returned fire."
According to a county official, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez acknowledged the shooting at a Thursday budget meeting, saying a shooter with an AK-47 was dead after exchanging gunfire with the police near Miami International Airport.
On Thursday morning, the FBI and local authorities started searching for Alexander Carballido, a 40-year-old convicted for kidnappings, aggravated battery, carjacking with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police and aggravated assault on a police officer.
He was on probation but a surveillance video shot on Wednesday showed Carbadillo committing a robbery.
The federal authorities did not confirm whether the "be on the look out" order for Carballido was related to the fatal police-involved shooting near the airport.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Perring