Hijacked bus found in Miami-Dade after deputy-involved shooting at Broward airport
A shuttle bus that was hijacked after a gunfight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was found in Miami-Dade County this weekend, Broward officials say. But deputies still haven’t tracked down the suspect, Leandro Fernandez Sanchez, 33.
On Friday morning, deputies were surveilling a suspected car thief in a parking garage at the Fort Lauderdale airport, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office update released Tuesday evening. The man fled when deputies approached him. He was quickly found nearby.
That’s when, the BSO update said, the man, who was driving a stolen car, rammed his car into a deputy’s vehicle near the area of the 1400 block of Perimeter Road.
READ MORE: Broward sheriff’s detectives looking for hijacked bus after gunfight near the airport
At least one deputy fired a gun at the car, according to the BSO update. On Friday, Miami Herald news partner CBS Miami took an aerial image of a Mercedes-Benz sedan riddled with bullet holes on the driver’s-side windshield.
The suspect, again, fled but managed to hijack the Broward County Paratransit TOPS shuttle bus that was later located in Miami-Dade, the BSO update said. No passengers were on the bus at the time.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy-involved shooting.
It’s currently unknown if Fernandez Sanchez was hit by gunfire, and deputies advise anyone who spots him to avoid approaching him and instead alert authorities. Anyone with information should call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online at browardcrimestoppers.org.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 6:34 PM.
