Kendall Residents Urged to Stay Indoors as Police Battle Suspect With High-Powered Weapon UPDATED

A crazy scene is playing out in Kendall tonight, with police urging residents to stay indoors as officers battle a suspect with a high-powered rifle near Miller Drive and SW 154th Avenue.Though details are scarce, NBC 6 reports that the confrontation began when police raided a suspected grow house. The...

By Tim Elfrink

February 20, 2013

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A crazy scene is playing out in Kendall tonight, with police urging residents to stay indoors as officers battle a suspect with a high-powered rifle near Miller Drive and SW 154th Avenue.

Though details are scarce, NBC 6 reports that the confrontation began when police raided a suspected grow house. The suspect set the place on fire before starting a shootout, the station reports.

Update: Police have one of the three suspects in custody. Two others are still on the run this morning.

The confrontation began sometime around 7:30 p.m., when a narcotics unit approached the suspect's house. He began shooting at police before setting the house on fire, NBC 6 reports.

As police closed in, he began firing at officers and in the general direction of Miller Drive, a heavily traveled thoroughfare.

Miami-Dade police have now urged residents in the area to stay inside.

The shootout has blown up Twitter as Kendall commuters try to navigate blocked streets and neighbors warn each other to stay out of the area. As of 9:15, the scene is still chaos:

We'll update this post when we learn more.

Update: After a nightlong manhunt, police have arrested one of three suspects involved in the shootout, but two others are still on the lam.

Miami-Dade police caught Brian Kelly Howell, 29, after setting up a perimeter around the scene, spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta tells the Miami Herald. Two other suspects remain at large: Dell Peter DiGiovanni, 50, and Michael Steven DiGiovanni, 27.

Pepe stayed on the news for his 17,000 followers, tweeting pics of the police swarm, updates about whether it was safe to venture outside, and generally punching TV news in the cojones.

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Tim Elfrink is a former investigative reporter and managing editor for Miami New Times. He has won the George Polk Award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Contact: Tim Elfrink

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