A man was hospitalized after he was shot by an officer in Southwest Miami-Dade early Monday.
The incident happened around 3:30 a.m. in the area of Sunset Drive near Southwest 160th Avenue, Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Rosanna Cordero-Stutz said.
Cordero-Stutz said an officer who was conducting a routine check in his patrol car spotted the man walking in the area with what appeared to be a shiny metal object in his waistband.
When the officer confronted the man, he reached for the object and the officer opened fire, Cordero-Stutz said.
The object was later identified as a baseball bat.
"I don't know the size of the baseball bat, because it's still being processed," said Cordero-Stutz. "Baseball bats come in various sizes, and my understanding is that it is a metal baseball bat."
The man was taken to Kendall Regional Hospital, where he was listed in stable but critical condition. His family later identified him as Sebastian Gregory, with his father telling NBC 6 that four bullets hit his son.
Juan Gregory said his brother isn't a hoodlum, and that he probably flinched and then was shot.
"The bat probably was for defense. He keeps a weapon for defense,” Juan Gregory said, adding that he doesn't know why his brother was out that late.
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Cordero-Stutz said the officer, who has been with the Miami-Dade Police Department for about three years, wasn't injured.
The shooting is still being investigated.
