What to Know
- Firefighters and paramedics could be seen outside the North District station located at 1000 NW 62nd Street shortly after 7 a.m.
- Officials have not released any information on possible injuries from anyone inside the building or the car’s driver.
A Miami Police Department substation was evacuated after a driver intentionally crashed into the building Friday morning.
Firefighters and paramedics could be seen outside the North District station located at 1000 Northwest 62nd Street shortly after 7 a.m., where a red car was partially visible from the rear of the building, where it hit a utility room.
Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said the driver, 36-year-old Giftson Cherenfant, intentionally drove through a gate then crashed into a wall of the station.
"We have video surveillance that shows us that he meant to go through the gate, that it was not an accidental breach," Colina told reporters at a news conference Friday.
Cherenfant was pinned inside the vehicle and later taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he is listed in stable condition. Colina said charges are pending against him.
No officers were injured. Colina said a weapon and other objects, including a safe, were found in the vehicle, which is why a bomb squad responded. No explosives were found.
Colina praised the work of an officer who blocked the vehicle in so it could not escape.
Investigators are working to determine a motive. Cherenfant does not have a violent past but does have a history of narcotics use, Colina said.
Local
"We don't know if that is a factor here, it's too early to tell," Colina said.
Colina said investigators spoke with Cherenfant's family, who said he has been "acting peculiar" over the past few days.
Police closed the road around the station from NW 60th to 63rd Street between 10th and 12th Avenue.
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