Former Miami-Dade School Board member denied bond after rampage and shootout with cops

Solomon Stinson, the 81-year-old former Miami-Dade School Board member who police say went on a shooting spree Sunday was booked into the Broward County Jail late Thursday and is facing seven felony counts, including a charge of premeditated attempted murder, for which he was denied bond.

The iconic academic and former principal who has mentored many of today’s local black leaders was escorted to the Broward County lockup after a three-day stay at Hollywood Memorial West Hospital, where he was involuntarily placed by police under Florida’s Baker Act law.

Stinson was arrested Sunday after a bizarre series of events in which police say he threatened several people with a handgun, firing the weapon in at least three separate instances, including at police after he crashed his car into some bushes just before he was taken into custody.

His alleged antics and subsequent arrest stunned friends and family who questioned whether the former school principal suffered some sort of mental breakdown. Stinson’s attorney H.T. Smith saw him briefly this week, but said he was withholding comment until after meeting with his client some time Friday.

Stinson is now facing seven felony charges from three policing agencies in Broward County. Miramar police charged him with aggravated assault without intent to kill. Pembroke Pines police charged Stinson with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

And the Broward Sheriff’s Office charged Stinson with criminal attempt to solicit and conspire during a capital felony, fleeing a crime scene and attempted premeditated murder for shooting at a police officer, the charge for which he was denied bond.

According to police and witnesses, Stinson began his rampage at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday when he honked his horn at a couple who were unloading their car in Monarch Lakes in Miramar. When the woman approached Stinson’s car, she said he pointed a gun at her. The couple called police.

After leaving that scene, police said, Stinson’s white Cadillac bumped into a car stopped in traffic while driving north on Flamingo Road. When the car in front of him applied the brakes, police said Stinson hit his accelerator enough to spin his wheels. When that driver approached Stinson, he told police the former educator pointed his weapon at him.

Then, according to police, Stinson headed to Pembroke Lakes Mall, where he stopped his car, partially blocking two other parked vehicles. When one of the drivers walked toward Stinson, the driver told police the former school board member had a smirk on his face before brandishing his weapon. The man ran back toward his car and told police Stinson fired at him. A bullet that went through the back windshield of the car missed the man’s head by inches, police said.

By the time Stinson left the mall parking lot, police were following him. Police said when Stinson stopped in traffic on Sheridan Street, he started firing at them. They returned fire. None of the bullets struck their target. A few minutes later he crashed his car into some bushes off the side of the road and police were able to take Stinson into custody.

This story was originally published June 7, 2019 at 12:57 PM.