A man suspected of robbing a food delivery man in Miami was shot and killed by an officer posing as a delivery man after a confrontation Wednesday night.
The confrontation happened shortly after 8:30 p.m. outside an apartment complex at Northwest 4th Ave. and 17th St. in Overtown.
According to police, 16-year-old Joel Lee Johnson had ordered a pizza earlier in the day, then robbed the delivery man. When Johnson called a different place, Miami Police organized the sting.
Though it's unclear what exactly led to the shooting, Miami Police said the officer opened fire after a confrontation and confirmed later that Johnson was armed. Witnesses said they heard multiple gunshots.
The sting was part of "Operation Take Back Our Streets," an operation aimed at cracking down on crime in the poverty and violence-stricken area of Overtown.
Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Police Chief Miguel Exposito responded to the scene. Community activists urged calm to a community that has leveled accusations of unjustified deadly shootings against its citizens.
"This is a clear case of police acting in self defense," said Regalado, "doing what the community wants -- trying to restore peace to crime-ridden areas."
"This is a community that's really on the edge," said Pastor James Adams, from the St. John Missionary Baptist Church. "Just as soon as things kind of simmer down, here's another incident."
Just last month, an unarmed man was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a rookie Miami police officer. That scene played out one block away from Wednesday's police involved shooting.
"He's a good kid," said Johnson's aunt, Lisa Singleterry, "he's never been in trouble before, there's no way he would be armed."
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Miami police spokesman Delrish Moss urged patience as the police fully investigate the incident.
"Anytime you have an incident, one of the things that the community has the responsibility to do and they've certainly been good about doing it, is holding our feet to the fire, to make sure that we dot every I and cross every T," said Moss. "What's frustrating sometimes for the community, what's hard for the community, is that these investigations take a little bit of time."
