Chaos erupted inside a Walmart on Wednesday in Florida City, Miami-Dade County after an altercation sparked a shooting that left one man dead, another shot and others injured as they ran to flee from gunfire.
A suspect is in custody and is facing charges of second degree murder and attempted murder.
This is what you know about the shooting on the morning of this Thursday, July 20.
A fight that got out of control
Miami-Dade police responded to the supercenter at 33501 S. Dixie Highway just before 3 pm, where they discovered two men with gunshot wounds. One of the victims, who was part of the fight, was shot and later died from her injuries.
As confirmed by Álvaro Zabaleta, spokesman for the Miami-Dade police, two groups of men were having an altercation around 2:57 pm when one of them pulled out a weapon and the shooting took place.
Investigators said two groups got into an altercation, during which someone pulled out a gun and started shooting.
Videos that have been published on social networks show a person lying on the market floor, apparently injured, while others surround him, trying to revive him and a little boy crying inconsolably.
The victim and the injured
Police identified 23-year-old Nathaniel Baez as the slain man.
The other wounded man was not part of the altercation, but was hit by a stray bullet. He was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening lower extremity injury, police said. His identity was not revealed.
A woman who suffered a head injury while fleeing was also taken to a local hospital for treatment and is in stable condition, authorities said. Additionally, five people who suffered minor cuts and scrapes while fleeing gunfire were treated outside the store and released.
One detainee and others Wanted
Miami-Dade police have arrested one person involved in the fight, but are still looking for other people they say were involved. According to unofficial information, there would be four other people who would be looking for.
The suspect in custody goes by the name of Steve Lestin, 25, who is facing charges of second-degree murder with a firearm and attempted murder. He has no bail set, according to the arrest report.
Helicopter footage from Telemundo 51 showed a handcuffed man placed in the back of a Florida City police car.
Police said they are reviewing surveillance footage and looking for the other suspects involved in the altercation and shooting, but need the public’s help locating them.
Other South Florida Walmart shootings
Just two months ago, a fatal shooting was reported at a Walmart in Broward County, South Florida. The victim received multiple bullet wounds and died at the hospital, authorities reported at the time.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), the man who fired the gun was arrested some time after he fled on a scooter from the parking lot of the Walmart located at 3001 N State Road 7, in Lauderdale Lakes.
In September 2022, another person was killed and a suspect was arrested following a shooting inside a Walmart located at 21151 South Dixie Highway in Goulds, in southwestern Miami-Dade County.
At that time, the police confirmed that the shooting was due to a fight, but did not specify in which section of the store it occurred, only that when they arrived at the site they found a person with gunshot wounds who was taken by Miami-Dade firefighters to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
