A day after he was shot during a deadly gun battle with a suspect that led to a massive police manhunt, a veteran Miami-Dade Police officer remained hospitalized.
Officer Saul Rodriguez was recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital Wednesday after he was shot in the abdomen while responding to a call of shots fired at 2260 N.W. 27th Avenue around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Police said late Tuesday that Rodriguez, a 13-year veteran of the department, was in stable condition after undergoing surgery. He's expected to be released soon.
Detectives are still investigating the circumstances around the robbery that led to a series of shootings and a massive manhunt that ended with three officers shot, three injured and two suspects dead.
On Wednesday, one of the suspects was identified by his wife as 50-year-old Corsini Valdes (below).
Wife Elsa Innamorato said police told her Wednesday morning that her husband had been killed in the shootout.
"I just found out 40 minutes ago," Innamorato said. "They told me some of the details."
Police identified the other suspect as 27-year-old Adrian Montesano.
Innamorato said she didn't know how her husband knew Montesano.
"I don't know, I gotta find out," she said.
The incident began when Montesano robbed the Walgreens at 2700 West Flagler Street in Little Havana at gunpoint, police said.
According to a police report released Wednesday, Montesano grabbed a store employee by her neck and pointed a gun at her head and demanded money. He also exchanged gunfire with a security guard at the store, the report said.
A photo released by Miami Fraternal Order of Police President Javier Ortiz showed Montesano holding a woman at gunpoint inside the store.
The woman, Daihana Lugo, said Montesano held the gun to her neck while he demanded the store manager give him cash.
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"I'll shoot you. I'll kill you or her," the man said, according to Lugo.
She said she kept her compsure and prayed, thinking of her kids.
"Don't do that," she told Montesano. "Christ loves you."
When authorities responded to the call, Roriguez was shot by Montesano, who then stole the officer's marked police cruiser and fled the scene.
Montesano abandoned the police car and took a blue Volvo that belongs to his grandmother and was joined by Valdes.
Police tracked the car down to Northwest 27th Avenue and 70th Street, where the suspects exchanged gunfire with officers. Montesano and Valdes were killed in the shootout.
Two officers were struck by bullets in the gunfight, while three other officers suffered minor injuries. The two other officers who were shot were treated and released from the hospital.
