The street on Miami Beach where a police standoff with a bank robber went down Thursday night may be open, but the apartment where it all ended is still considered an active crime scene.
A heavy round of gunfire brought a 12 hour standoff to a deadly end. Thirteen hours later the medical examiner removed the body from the apartment, located just blocks away from the Regions Bank that was allegedly robbed by the suspect.
"They seemed pretty calm, they seemed to do things in a methodical manner in a professional manner. I think the guy had an opportunity to change the results," said neighbor, Johnathon Folland.
Authorities still haven't released the name of the dead suspect, but neighbors said they recognized him.
"I've only seen him like twice in two years that I've lived there, but I have seen him., I know he lived there," a neighbor named Michael said.
For hours police tried to negotiate and use non-lethal methods to get him to come out of his apartment. The FBI said it all started after he robbed the Regions Bank at 780 Arthur Godfrey Road and assaulted a couple of people just blocks away. Surveillance photos from the robbery show the suspect sporting a smile and what appears to be a gun.
The intense police activity paralyzed the area.
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"It felt like a million miles away," said a mother who said she couldn't get to her teenaged son for hours on Thursday. "I was just a wreck."
Other neighbors were not allowed back in their apartments overnight and had to find a place to sleep, but they said they believe police handled the situation well.
"For me, I think the cops a good job, I don't think the guy was as intelligent as a bank robber should be, to rob a bank a block away from your house," Michael said.
Also on Thursday, police worked a suspicious package that created a lot of traffic troubles for anybody trying to get to the beach using the Julia Tuttle Causeway. Everything was back open and residents allowed back in their homes in time for the holiday weekend.
