Four people are dead in Florida after a highway shootout in which police chased down two jewel thieves who had carjacked a UPS truck.
Helicopter footage from WSVN 7 News shows shots being exchanged by police and two suspected jewel thieves after their truck got stuck in traffic. Both of the 41-year-old suspects, Lamar Alexander and Ronnie Jerome Hill, were killed in the Thursday gun fight.
Frank Ordonez, 27, was a hostage UPS employee who was also killed along with an unnamed bystander. A senior law enforcement source said 19 officers opened fire on the UPS truck.
The police chase started after a silent alarm was triggered at a jewelry store in South Florida. The suspects left in a truck before carjacking the UPS delivery truck and taking Ordonez hostage. Authorities say a worker at the jewelry store where the incident began was also injured.
The jewelry store/ UPS truck robber shooting was a scary scene pic.twitter.com/CdW9GsSNp6
— Drew Martin (@DrewMartinBets) December 6, 2019
#BREAKING: Police chase ends with shots fired on Miramar Parkway just west of Flamingo. pic.twitter.com/Af4bmssRZ9
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) December 5, 2019
“This is what dangerous people do to get away,” Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak said. “And this is what people will do to avoid capture.”
UPS spokesman David Graves said the company was “deeply saddened” by the death of their employee. “We extend our condolences to the family and friends of our employee and the other innocent victims involved in this incident,” he said.
Critics held police responsible for the death of the hostage and bystander for deciding to engage in gunfire with the suspects on a busy highway.
This hurts my heart so bad. They seemed to have killed an innocent UPS driver. Why in the world are you shooting up the whole vehicle on both sides if you know there’s a hostage inside!? https://t.co/fJReapstSY
— Ameen (@Ameen_HGA) December 6, 2019
That UPS drivers family is not only going to sue the absolute fuck out of UPS but also every single department involved in the shooting.
I hope they walk away from this filthy rich.
— Naitsirc Tnarecrag (@Gcristian) December 6, 2019
That UPS chase has to be the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen police do, first off the jewelry is insured, second off the UPS truck has gps and not too mention that they started shooting in the middle of 5pm traffic hiding behind civilian cars
— rula (@King_OT) December 6, 2019
I haven’t seen the commentary on the UPS shooting in Miramar today but I’m thinking @MiamiDadePD is going to have to explain their decision to engage the hostage takers in the middle of rush hr traffic & apparently using civilian vehicles for cover.pic.twitter.com/86S8TGaStG
— SFDB (@sfdb) December 6, 2019
