A veteran North Miami Beach Police Officer was shot Friday morning while serving a search warrant for a federal investigation, authorities said.
Officer Lino Diaz and other officers were serving a search warrant for a federal investigation at a home located at Northeast 160th Avenue and 8th Avenue in North Miami Beach just after 6 a.m. when the shooting happened, police said.
When officers approached the home, a person or persons inside began shooting at the officers, officials said.
Police said Diaz was struck twice and pulled to safety by fellow officers.
Diaz was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma center with gunshots to the arm and the leg. He was listed in stable condition and his injuries are non life-threatening.
"He's very, very lucky," Ryder's Dr. Nicolas Namias said. "Every gunshot is very close to being an unhappy ending, it's not like the movies where an arm or a leg means it's ok."
In a Friday morning news conference with the mayor and police, Officer Kathy Katerman of the North Miami Beach Police Department said officers never entered the home and that the officers were fired upon from inside the home.
"We did have some information that this was a very dangerous house we were approaching," Katerman said.
SWAT officers surrounded the home where the suspected shooters were believed to be inside. Sources confirmed that two people were taken into custody, one of whom is named Elton Bandoo.
Sources also said Bandoo is connected to a gang, NMB Stunnaz, who are featured in a YouTube video touting guns and violence.
"We are aware of that video and used it as part of our planning. I can't say more than that, if it is tied to the investigation any deeper than that, but it was important to us as well," Katerman said.
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Bandoo is from South Florida and attended North Miami Beach Senior High School. State records showed he is a managing member of a company called Major Currency Entertainment.
"I know that some of the individuals involved are gang member associates and are affiliated with local gangs that are very violent in our area," Katerman said.
A woman was also taken into custody at the scene, but no other information about her was immediately known.
As Diaz recovered at the hospital, officials and family members praised him for putting his life on the line.
"He took two bullets for the people of North Miami Beach today," North Miami Beach Mayor George Vallejo said.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis said Diaz was wearing a vest at the time of the shooting.
"Officer Lino Diaz is a warrior," Dennis said. "One of the rounds that hit his leg did hit the vest on the way in, we believe that it either slowed down the trajectory or changed the trajectory of the bullet."
Family members went to Ryder Trauma to be at his side Friday.
"We're lucky that we have him here with us," sister Suhaill Diaz said. "It has been a great ordeal."
According to the North Miami Beach Police Department, Diaz has been a police officer since 1995, and was hired by NMBPD in 1998. Since then, he has worked in the road patrol and street crimes units. He's a member of the Honor Guard Unit, and received "Officer of the Month" honors multiple times between 2001 and 2012.
Diaz has been the recipient of several awards, including distinguished service and chief special recognition, among others.
"I am very proud of my son," father Faustino Diaz said.
Namias said Diaz will likely spend three days in the hospital.
Police said the suspects are being interviewed and that charges will be filed when the investigation is complete.
