By Joey Flechas, Glenda Ortega, Benjamin S. Brasch and Evan S. Benn The Miami Herald
A hostage standoff and shootout left seven people dead Saturday at a Hialeah apartment building as investigators worked to piece together what happened.
The violence started about 6:30 p.m. Friday, when building managers Italo and Samira Pisciotti went to speak with a fourth-floor tenant who lived with his mother, according to police and witnesses. The tenant fired about 15 to 20 shots at the Pisciottis, killing them. Italo was 78, Samira was 68.
The unidentified shooter killed two other men and two other women by the time Hialeah SWAT moved in Saturday morning. Tactical officers stormed the building, shooting the gunman dead as he threatened to kill hostages.
“At the time, the suspect was holding at least two hostages at gunpoint,” police spokesman Carl Zogby said.
All seven victims died on the scene at 46th Street and West 16th Avenue. No officers were hurt, Zogby said.
“I saw my mother’s dead body,” said Shamira Pisciotti, who lives in a unit at the building her parents managed. “She died the moment she was shot, but it looks like my dad was still alive after he was shot.”
Pisciotti said her parents had gone to speak with the shooter about a complaint he had filed. “It seems like he was the one who shot my mom and my dad,” she said.
Friends and family at the scene identified one of the other victims as Carlos Gavilanez, who they said was 30 years old and married with two children. Gavilanez did not appear to be related to the Pisciottis.
Another resident, Mirian Valdes, 70, said the Pisciottis had previously attempted to evict the tenant and tried to do so again on Friday.
At least one of the victims lived in an apartment across the street from the main scene. Hialeah Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said that man was walking into his building when the gunman fired at him from a balcony.
The shooter holed himself up in a fifth-floor unit with two hostages. Talks between the gunman and police negotiators broke down about 2 a.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said, which is when SWAT went in.
“We had a shootout, and we rescued both hostages,” Rodriguez said.
By mid-morning Saturday, dozens of police from Hialeah and other agencies surrounded the building, looking for clues and interviewing witnesses. Authorities were keeping cars from entering the area while media helicopters flew overhead.
The apartment building houses about 90 families.
Neighbor Claribel Dominguez said she heard the gunshots Friday and couldn’t go to bed.
“I haven’t slept all night,” she said
A hostage standoff and shootout left seven people dead Saturday at a Hialeah apartment building as investigators worked to piece together what happened.
The violence started about 6:30 p.m. Friday, when building managers Italo and Samira Pisciotti went to speak with a fourth-floor tenant who lived with his mother, according to police and witnesses. The tenant fired about 15 to 20 shots at the Pisciottis, killing them. Italo was 78, Samira was 68.
The unidentified shooter killed two other men and two other women by the time Hialeah SWAT moved in Saturday morning. Tactical officers stormed the building, shooting the gunman dead as he threatened to kill hostages.
“At the time, the suspect was holding at least two hostages at gunpoint,” police spokesman Carl Zogby said.
All seven victims died on the scene at 46th Street and West 16th Avenue. No officers were hurt, Zogby said.
“I saw my mother’s dead body,” said Shamira Pisciotti, who lives in a unit at the building her parents managed. “She died the moment she was shot, but it looks like my dad was still alive after he was shot.”
Pisciotti said her parents had gone to speak with the shooter about a complaint he had filed. “It seems like he was the one who shot my mom and my dad,” she said.
Friends and family at the scene identified one of the other victims as Carlos Gavilanez, who they said was 30 years old and married with two children. Gavilanez did not appear to be related to the Pisciottis.
Another resident, Mirian Valdes, 70, said the Pisciottis had previously attempted to evict the tenant and tried to do so again on Friday.
At least one of the victims lived in an apartment across the street from the main scene. Hialeah Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said that man was walking into his building when the gunman fired at him from a balcony.
The shooter holed himself up in a fifth-floor unit with two hostages. Talks between the gunman and police negotiators broke down about 2 a.m. Saturday, Rodriguez said, which is when SWAT went in.
“We had a shootout, and we rescued both hostages,” Rodriguez said.
By mid-morning Saturday, dozens of police from Hialeah and other agencies surrounded the building, looking for clues and interviewing witnesses. Authorities were keeping cars from entering the area while media helicopters flew overhead.
The apartment building houses about 90 families.
Neighbor Claribel Dominguez said she heard the gunshots Friday and couldn’t go to bed.
“I haven’t slept all night,” she said