Teen shot, injured by police in Northwest Dade. Two firearms recovered, police say

A confrontation Monday between police and three teenagers in Northwest Miami-Dade escalated to gunfire, leaving one of the juveniles with a leg wound and recovering in the hospital.

Two others were apprehended after brief chases and police said they recovered two weapons. No officers were injured.

Police didn’t give a reason for the shooting, saying they were dispatched over reports of gunfire and ran into the teens on the way to the scene. Miami police Sgt. Carlos Rosario said it hadn’t yet been determined if any of the juveniles — two were 15, the other 16 — fired a weapon.

“That’s still under investigation,” he said.

Rosario’s description of the shooting, which took place in the Brownsville neighborhood of Northwest Dade, adjacent to and just west of Liberty City, sparked angry reactions from some residents who were listening in on his statements to the media. They denied that any shots were fired other than those coming from the officer who struck the teen.

At one point Rosario called in extra police personnel to separate shouting residents from the media. The residents refused several requests by the media for interviews.

One woman showed a video she had taken on her cellphone. In it, gunfire could be heard and it showed an officer pulling up to the scene, exiting his car and chasing after one of the teens who had ridden away on his bicycle. The woman wouldn’t give her name or share the video.

Rosario said police received a call at 2:20 p.m. from someone saying they heard gunfire in the neighborhood. When they arrived, officers spotted the three male teens on bikes and a brief chase ended with one of them being shot at Northwest 73rd Street and 20th Avenue.

Rosario said two officers fired their weapons. The two other teens were quickly apprehended. In all, Rosario said, two weapons were recovered, one believed to be from the teen who was shot. Police said he was shot in the leg and is expected to recover.

Rosario didn’t offer an explanation as to why the cops took the teens into custody or what sparked the shooting. He said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would investigate the shooting.

Police said the two firearms were reported stolen and charges are pending against two of the juveniles.

This story was originally published January 28, 2019 at 3:27 PM.