A family is speaking out after a man wanted in an armed robbery was shot and killed by a Miami-Dade Police officer.
Late Thursday night, a Homestead family was startled to hear police knocking on their door and wanting to speak to 33-year-old Gabriel Gelpi Rodriguez.
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WATCH HERERodriguez’s stepfather, who was working at the time, told NBC6 that police told his wife and Rodriguez’s pregnant wife to step outside while they tried to get the suspect.
It’s unclear if police wanted to arrest Rodriguez. In a statement, Miami-Dade police said that detectives were looking for "a subject implicated in an armed robbery."
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Miami-Dade Police officials said Robbery Intervention Detail detectives found the suspect in the area of 40 Northwest 2nd Street.
Police stated a resident gave them access to the apartment. Rodriguez was apparently armed with a sharp object and a confrontation ensued, officials said.
One of the detectives opened fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.
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"There's so much blood. The apartment is filled with blood," the stepfather said in Spanish. "The mirrors are shattered by the bullets."
Police haven't officially released the suspect's identity but said he was 33 years old. Family members confirmed the man killed was Rodriguez.
The sharp object was recovered by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who will investigate the incident, which is standard practice in police shootings.
At the scene, NBC6 cameras watched as investigators smashed what looked like a safe found inside the apartment. It’s unclear if police found anything inside the safe.
NBC6 was invited by the family inside the apartment after police cleared the scene. Blood was spotted at the door and in the living room and bedrooms. A mirror also was seen with what looked like a bullet hole.
The family was shaken to have lost a loved one and left with the responsibility of cleaning a bloody apartment.
NBC6 learned Rodriguez is a convicted felon with several cases in Miami-Dade. In 2022, he was arrested for hitting a Doral cop with a car and fleeing the scene. He was also guilty of leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury, according to records.
