Suspect in officer-involved shooting that shut down Palmetto remains on the loose

Miami-Dade police are looking for a man who allegedly pointed a gun at police officers after fleeing from them during a traffic stop and crashing his car into a chain link fence and onto the Palmetto Expressway early Friday.

Police described the suspect as a black man between 25- to 35-years-old, with a heavy build and short hair, measuring about 5-feet-8-inches to 6-feet in height. He was wearing a light shirt and dark pants when police last saw him fleeing on foot from his crashed car between Southwest 76th and 80th streets by the southbound lanes of the Palmetto.

Detectives reported that a Miami-Dade patrol unit first encountered the man as they were finishing up a traffic stop on U.S. 1 south of Southwest 80th Street at about 2:15 a.m. Friday. They saw a newer model silver Toyota Camry speed by and gave chase, according to a press release.

The patrol unit instructed the driver to pull into a nearby shopping center when he allegedly fled from them. Police officers lost sight of the car, but later found it crashed into a chain link fence between Southwest 76th and 80th Streets and on the swale of the southbound Palmetto.

As the two police officers approached the crashed car, the man jumped out and ran away, according to the press release. The police officers ran after the man and he allegedly turned and pointed a gun at them. One of the two police officers fired his gun at the man, but he kept running westbound across the Palmetto and got away.

Police launched a search with helicopters and dogs, and shut down both lanes of the Palmetto just before 5 a.m. But they have failed to find him. The Palmetto has since been reopened.

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Suspect in officer-involved shooting that shut down Palmetto remains on the loose."