Man with machete who took a woman hostage shot dead by North Miami Beach PD, cops say
A man who had threatened his family with a machete Thursday afternoon made his way to an office building in North Miami Beach where he took a woman hostage and was shot dead by police, authorities said.
The shooting happened at about 2 p.m. inside a medical office building at 16855 NE Second Ave.
In a press conference near the crime scene, North Miami Beach Chief of Police Harvette Smith told reporters that her officers spotted the man wielding a machete outside the building.
When he refused to drop the sharp object, Smith said, officers tased him before he ran into the building. Once inside, officers saw him holding a machete against the victim’s neck.
“The machete (was) pointed at her neck in an attempt to kill her,” she said.
The man refused to drop the machete when ordered, Smith said, and officers shot him.
The man’s family members called police after he threatened them and left their home prior to the shooting, a source told the Miami Herald.
No one else was injured and police didn’t release the man’s name.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 3:18 PM.
