(Screengrab via NBC Miami)
Two people were killed in an early morning shooting at Miami International Airport. The airport tweeted at around 7 a.m. on the morning of August 10 that the shooting occurred in an employee parking lot. The message added that there is “no impact to airport operations.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Identities of the Victims Has Not Been Released
(Screengrab via ABC Miami)
CBS Miami reports that their chopper spotted a body covered by a tarp in the parking lot. The second body was slumped next to a car close by, according to the station.
NBC Miami’s Michael Spears tweeted that the two victims are men and that witnesses heard them arguing before the shots were fired.
The Miami Herald reports that the first victim is a man in his 50s or 60s and the second is in his 40s or 50s. They were both employees of the airport.
2. The Incident Is Being Reported as a Murder-Suicide
We are seeing a covered body in an airport parking lot near MIA. @EricaRakow at an active police scene @WPLGLocal10
There has been no motive released for the shooting. CBS Miami reports that Miami-Dade police are investigating.
In a tweet, local police said that there was no threat to public safety in the area. NBC Miami’s Michael Spears described the shooting as a “murder-suicide.”
3. The Parking Lot Is Southeast of the Airport’s Terminals
An aerial view of Miami International Airport. (Wikipedia)
The parking lot where the bodies were found is located at NW 45th Avenue and 13th Street.
4. There Are No Delays Due to the Shooting
A spokesman for the airport, Mark Henderson, confirmed to CBS Miami that the shooting was having no impact on operations at Miami International.
5. The Last Shooting at the Airport Came in 2005 When a Man Claimed to Have a Bomb
This is the first shooting at Miami airport since December 2005. In that incident, Rigoberto Alpizar, 44, claimed to have a bomb in his carry-on luggage. He had landed at the airport from South America and was due to fly on to Orlando. Alpizar was killed on the jetway at one of the airport’s gates. He had tried to flee after making the claiming and being confronted. It was the first time that an air marshal had fired a weapon close to an airplane.