A suspect who police said "ambushed" a Miami-Dade Police narcotics officer, shooting him in the back of the head and leaving him hospitalized Wednesday, has been taken into custody following a massive manhunt, officials said.
"Thanks to the tireless efforts of my officers, the coward who ambushed my detective yesterday is in custody," Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez tweeted Thursday morning. "Thank you to all of our local law enforcement partners for their help."
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday in a neighborhood near the 500 block of Northwest 42nd Street. Ramirez said the officer was conducting a narcotics investigation and was approaching a suspect he was going to arrest when he was "ambushed" from behind.
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The officer was shot in the back of the head but thankfully was only grazed by the bullet, Ramirez said.
The officer was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where a large law enforcement officers showed up to support him.
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"Thank goodness he's in good condition, we're all very blessed that he's ok," Ramirez told reporters Wednesday evening. "This could have been totally different."
Ramirez didn't release the identity of the officer, but said he's been with the department for around 18 years. He returned home Wednesday evening after he was released from the hospital.
One suspect had been taken into custody shortly after the shooting, and police had set up a perimeter as they searched for the second suspect into Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Miami Police tweeted that their officers were at the scene and had the area closed off. Officers from several other agencies including Miami Beach Police and Fort Lauderdale Police assisted in the search.
Officials haven't released the identity of the two suspects or said what charges they'll face.
At his news conference Wednesday, Ramirez expressed frustration over several recent attacks on his officers.
"I'm tired of being here at the hospital, four times already for injured officers being shot and attacked, and this has to stop," he said. "And if this continues, we will respond. If you attack an officer, you're attacking the community, you're attacking children."
As Miami-Dade Police surrounded the Buena Vista neighborhood, Adrian Cavallo was coming home from work but quickly found out he couldn't go home.
"It was like an army of cops,” Cavallo said.
Cavallo lives on 46th Street. He came home to an armed truck, police with their guns and K-9s.
"I saw three officers enter from the gate and go to the backyard and they told me to wait,” Cavallo said.
Officers didn't just search outside Cavallo's home. They walked around the entire neighborhood with K-9s, checking backyards and searching inside sheds.
"I was thinking this is something very serious,” Cavallo said.
Cavallo wasn't the only one who couldn't get home. Resident Peter Joseph said the milk he bought for a child at his house sat in his car for hours.
"We just want to get home that's all, since 5 o' clock." Joseph said. "I asked him, 'please let me drop this off, no one can take me home.'"
The search for a shooter left many people on the outside looking in.
"This is crazy,” Cavallo said. “It's not a scary situation for me it's almost normal."
