Search for man in Miami Lakes prompts social media speculation
Government
By Linda Trischitta, Editor
Thursday, October 1, 2020
A police search Wednesday for a man near the Royal Oaks Plaza in Miami Lakes prompted fearful social media posts about a gunman.
“…There was never an active shooter situation, and the subject committed no crimes in the Town of Miami Lakes,” town spokeswoman Clarisell De Cardenas said in a statement released Thursday.
At around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a half-dozen police cars and additional unmarked cars sped from Northwest 77th Court at the shopping center’s entrance.
They drove across Northwest 154th Street and split up to search the office parks along Commerce Drive and Oak Lane while a police helicopter flew overhead.
De Cardenas said Miami-Dade Police officers who protect the town were assisting the Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A man was being sought by the state and federal agencies and when he was found, he ran from detectives into the shopping center, De Cardenas said.
The Plaza, with a Winn-Dixie supermarket as its anchor, is at 15460 NW 77th Court, across the street from the entrance to the Palmetto Expressway.
The man was not found Wednesday, according to De Cardenas.
Citing the ongoing investigation, she said police could not provide additional details.