Miami Manhunt Ends In Fatal Shootout

Killing Suspect In Earlier Shooting That Left 1 Officer Dead And 3 Others Injured

(AP)  Authorities say a Miami manhunt has ended in a shootout, killing the suspected gunman in a traffic stop shooting several hours earlier that left one Miami-Dade County police officer dead and three other officers injured.

Officers from police departments across South Florida had conducted a massive search for the suspect, who investigators identified as 25-year-old Shawn Sherwin Labeet. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said Labeet was found shortly before midnight in a Pembroke Pines apartment complex late Thursday.

"There was an exchange of gunfire and the subject was shot and killed," said Alvarez.

Alvarez, a former county police director, identified the dead officer as Jose Somohano, 37, a married father of two. Another officer, Jody Wright, 31, underwent several hours of surgery to repair her severely injured leg. The other two injured officers were treated and released.

Labeet was armed when police found him about 30 miles north of the original shooting scene late Thursday, according to Alvarez, who said the family of the dead officer has been informed of Labeet's death.

"They asked us for one thing," said Alvarez. "They asked us to catch the subject. Well, I'm happy to report that shortly before midnight, we found the subject."

Miami-Dade Police Director Robert Parker said several police agencies were involved throughout Thursday in the manhunt, which took about twelve hours.

"It is absolutely as a result of an all-out law enforcement effort to apprehend this individual and some very good investigative work that we were able to locate him and attempt to place him in custody," Parker said. "Unfortunately, it led to his death."

According to police spokeswoman Linda O'Brien, the officers were conducting a burglary surveillance in the Miami suburb of Cutler Bay when they stopped Labeet Thursday morning because he was driving erratically. Without warning, according to O'Brien, Labeet started shooting at police.

Authorities say Labeet, who may have been wearing a bulletproof vest, fled in his car, which was found abandoned five miles away. Alvarez said an AK-47 assault rifle was found inside the vehicle.

Alvarez told reporters that Labeet's girlfriend was questioned, but gave officers the name of another man. That, said the mayor, caused investigators to waste several hours looking for the other man before he came forward hundreds of miles away in Jacksonville after hearing that he was wanted. Authorities say he turned out to have no connection to the case.

"I'm sure she'll be facing some charges," said Alvarez. Police declined to give further details on her involvement.

In the hours after the shootings, dozens of officers descended on the area. They could be seen drawing their guns as they briefly surrounded a house and then moved on. They also searched through a garbage truck as others scoured a grassy area on foot. Police were stopping vehicles in the area and searching through them. A federal government helicopter buzzed overhead.

Authorities had offered a $200,000 reward for information leading to Labeet's arrest. It is not immediately clear if that reward money will be paid out to anyone.

Cutler Bay is a suburb southwest of downtown Miami. Several schools in the area were locked down due to the search. Parts of Florida's Turnpike were briefly shut down and residents of the apartment complex where the shootings took place were not allowed into their homes.

"It's a pretty good neighborhood. I never see the police at nobody's house. This is something that just happened," said Mae Haynes, 61, who lives in the neighborhood.

The attacks Thursday followed the separate shootings of two sheriff's deputies last month in Broward. One was killed and officials are still looking for suspects. The other deputy was badly injured and the accused shooter is in jail in the case.

[keithle1]

Another tough guy bites the dust. Awwww. Sniff. Boo hoo. He was such a credit to his race. A quiet man.
Always helped the seniors in the hood with their groceries. The police shouldn''t have shot him. That''s excessive use of force. Police brutality.

They only shot him because he''s black. If he was white, the police would have taken him to Denny''s for dinner.

How much crime would there be if all of the young black men in the USA disappeared tomorrow? Is it racist to say that it would go down dramatically?

[three-o-six]

The good part of this story is that Miami was spared the codt of a tial -- Good job Miami Police -- this is how killers should be handled!!!

[jn122736]

%u201CI guess the thing that irks me is that more than a few of the people who rally around the 2nd Amendment as if it was handed straight down from God is that they haven''''t spent too much time on the other end of that gun, at least domestically.%u201D
Posted by themurph2000 at 02:05 PM : Sep 14, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Each persons %u201CGod%u201D exists only in their particular mind.

Those who gave us the constitution, and all it%u2019s amendments, were flesh and blood.
The constitution itself is a physical document AND the written Law of the land.
However, it is only as good as those who would stand and defend it (or not).

The second amendment, like the first amendment (freedom of speech), is only a part of the constitution. One is no more or less important than the other.

[themurph2000]

murph~ I apologize if I took your comment the wrong way. Why is the fact the my (she, not he) vote counts as much as yours scary?

Her vote, sorry. And just the way I interpreted what you said about me teaching gangbangers how to kill. If you didn''t mean it the way I thought you meant it, then I was in the wrong and I apologize.

I guess the thing that irks me is that more than a few of the people who rally around the 2nd Amendment as if it was handed straight down from God is that they haven''t spent too much time on the other end of that gun, at least domestically. (I know more than a few war veterans who rally around it, but you I''m not sure you can compare situations of war to what''s going on in our streets.) I think it''s everybody''s right to carry a gun, provided they have not committed criminal acts, are of a legal age, and are 100% responsible with it. The trouble is, we make it way too easy in this country to get one. And yes, many criminals get their weapons through illegal means, which is why I support doing more weapons raids when and where possible.

We have this guy in Illinois who is encouraging people to violate the Concealed Carry Law in this state to put their guns in a fanny pack. I''m sorry, but if you want to carry a gun everywhere you go, it should be out visible in a holster, either shoulder or hip. (having your gun permit on your person wouldn''t hurt, either) This person is advocating dangerous irresponsibility, out and out.

Ah ,well. I give up.

[azmka]

There was a report a couple of weeks ago that stated there were something like 900 million legally owned fire arms in the U.S.

The media tries to scare us for ratings and the result is a paranoid nation. 900 mil. weapons out there is proof that responsible people own fire arms w/out shooting people. Even if there ever was a ban on owning fire arms, the criminals would be the only ones with weapons while the average joe is at the mercy of criminals.

Yes the cops would still carry weapons for our "protection". The only problem is that cops arrive after the fact and by then you may not need them.

[last121868]

A gun is a very p*ssy way to kill someone. And I''''ve told gangbangers that myself.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by themurph2000 at 11:02 AM : Sep 14, 2007
+ report abuse
murph~ I apologize if I took your comment the wrong way. Why is the fact the my (she, not he) vote counts as much as yours scary?

[neocon04]

Blaiming the gun on the death of a person is like blaiming the pencil for the mispelled word. But for all of those people out that that want to take away the Constitutional right for law abiding US citizens to bear arms, then all you need to do is ratify an admendment that will repeal the 2nd admendment. Much like the 21st admendment was ratified to repeal the 18th admendment. So good luck with that. I will be counting how many times I will be called a fascist by people who have no idea what the word means.

[themurph2000]

Wow murph! You are giving lessons to gangbangers on how to kill people? Your mom must be so proud...
Posted by last121868 at 11:24 AM : Sep 14, 2007

And what''s scariest is that his vote counts in an election the same as mine.

Read the f***ing thing again. I consider any gang member to be a chicken sh*t. And as an inner-city HS teacher, I''ve dealt with more than my share of them. People still commit murders: guns just make doing it very simple. You don''t even have to leave your car to do it.

As for infringing on the Constitution, I would not advocate taking away people''s rights to have weapons: I just want to make sure we keep them out of the hands of criminals. Shore up our criminal databases to make them more accurate, prosecute straw purchasers and gun dealerships that KNOWINGLY sell to them. (I emphasize knowingly there because I consider that a criminal act if you know you''re selling the guns to someone who doesn''t have a legal right to own one.)

I gave up on the NRA when they criticized Smith & Wesson back in the mid-90s for adding gun locks to their guns. They didn''t require the gun owner to use them: they merely provided them. They also lost me when they fought against gun shows requiring the same 5-day waiting period that permanent gun shops must use.

[rlwhitedov]

This is one of the worst written articles I have ever read. Who hunted who? Who shot who. Who was the suspect and who was the deceased? Maybe an eighth grader should write your articles.

[jn122736]

For those of you who like to spout the 2nd Amendment, the ENTIRE amendment reads: "In order to ensure a well-regulated militia, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed." The whole point of the 2nd amendment was so that the government didn''''t come into your house and do what they wanted without your due process. Given that a police officer was shot at a routine traffic stop here, I''''m thinking that the reasons behind the second amendment do not apply here.
Posted by themurph2000 at 11:02 AM : Sep 14, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second amendment to the constitution consists of 27 words:
%u201CA well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed%u201D.

This amendment very clearly gives citizens the right to keep AND to bear arms in their defense of self and country.

Justice demands that any violation of existing, constitutionally legal, laws result in trial and punishment of the perpetrators.

Restricting the right of all citizens because of the transgressions of one is not only wrong; it is cowardly, and an insult to the constitution.

Times change and from time to time the constitution may well need to be altered but that MUST be left to the amendment procedure.
Not to legislation bypassing the constitution itself.
Otherwise the constitution will truly become just a %u201CD amned piece of paper