The suspect in shooting and seriously wounding two Orlando police officers was shot to death by authorities this Saturday at a hotel in the city, authorities said.
The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Daton Viel, who was shot and killed Saturday following a chase following the shooting that critically wounded the two officers Friday, Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith confirmed.
Viel barricaded himself in a room at the Holiday Inn on Kirkman Road. He allegedly fired at the officers and they responded with fire, killing the suspect.
According to Smith, the agents were investigating a vehicle that the suspects in question would have used for a homicide that occurred on Northwest 83rd Street and 22nd Avenue in West Little River, in Miami-Dade County.
According to the Police, Daton Viel, 28, drove the vehicle in which a man named Michael Williams Jr. was murdered on July 10 in this area of Miami and was later intercepted in Orlando.
Miami-Dade police reviewed surveillance video of the homicide in Miami on July 10, and the footage showed someone getting into a car after shooting Michael. Investigators said it was the same car Viel was found in in Orlando.
During the intervention, one of the suspects opened fire on the officers. Smith added that Viel acted alone and that he has an extensive criminal record. “Our officers are lucky to be alive and we ask that you pray for them,” he said.
The two officers remain in critical condition following the shooting just before 11:00 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Washington Street and Garland Avenue.
“Just before 11 p.m. tonight, officers were investigating a vehicle, one for a homicide in Miami. During the stop, the suspect shot two of our officers. The other suspect then stole another car and a riot ensued. persecution,” Smith said.
“It is a sad day for our department. For the suspects out there; We are going to find them and we are going to do justice,” the authorities said.
The suspect who was killed in Orlando had a long criminal record, with a case of sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl reportedly opened last December.
