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Video: Florida Officer "Ambushed" and Shot, Suspect Arrested

Chaos erupted on the streets of Northwest Miami-Dade, FL, Friday morning after an officer was shot in an ambush attack while he was writing a traffic report.

January 22, 2016
Video: Florida Officer "Ambushed" and Shot, Suspect Arrested

 

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Chaos erupted on the streets of Northwest Miami-Dade, FL, Friday morning after an officer was shot in an ambush attack while he was writing a traffic report, reports CBSMiami .

Authorities said Miami Gardens (FL) Police Department Officer David Starling was fired upon at N.W. 183rd Street and N.W. 7th Avenue.

They said the shooter, 24-year-old David Mejia, drove by the officer, backed up his BMW, and unloaded at least six shots into Starling's driver-side doors, as evidenced by the bullet holes that were left.

Bleeding from a shot to his buttocks, Officer Starling called dispatch with a description of the suspect's car and began following him.

"As the other officers from the Miami Gardens Police Department joined the chase, the subject then, at approximately 20th Avenue, leaned out the window with the firearm and began to fire at the officers that were pursuing him," said Miami Gardens Police Chief Antonio Brooklen.

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Eventually Mejia crashed into a pickup and bailed out of his car. Police apprehended him a short time later. Officials said Mejia acted alone targeting someone in uniform.

At a press conference Friday morning, Chief Brooklen vented his frustration at the senseless act of someone willing "to attempt to assassinate a police officer, who is employed to protect and serve."

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