Efforts to track down a red light runner late Tuesday night could have turned deadly for Miami-Dade officers as gunshots rang out during a police chase , authorities said.
Jose Perez, 19, is facing charges of attempted second degree murder of an officer and resisting an officer without violence. A 17-year-old, who the Miami Herald is not identifying due to his age, is charged with fleeing and eluding a police officer, accessory after the fact and resisting an officer without violence.
Perez remains in jail as of Wednesday evening. It’s unclear whether the 17-year-old is still in custody.
Around 11:40 p.m., a Hyundai sedan didn’t stop at a red light at Northeast 150 Street and Northeast Sixth Avenue, near Golden Glades, Miami-Dade police. An officer saw this, turned on his sirens and began to chase down the Hyundai.
The 17-year-old was in the driver’s seat and when he saw the red and blue lights he stepped on the gas and took “evasive maneuvers”, an arrest report read.
“[The 17-year-old] was fleeing at a high rate of speed with complete disregard for the safety of people and property in the area.” the report read.
Perez, who was sitting in the back passenger seat, took out a gun and began firing at the pursuing officers. The chase eventually ended at Northeast 123 Street and Northeast 13 Avenue.
Four people in the car, including Perez and the teen, bailed out and ran. All four were taken into custody. After interviews with detectives, only Perez and the teen were charged; the other two were released as witnesses.
No officers were injured.