Michael Bueno, a mentally ill man who had become somewhat notorious in his North Miami neighborhood for always asking strangers who passed him by for 50 cents, has been shot and killed by a Miami-Dade Police officer. The force says that Bueno was seen brandishing a knife when he was fatally shot, but those who knew Bueno are questioning that claim.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. this afternoon at NE 169th Street and 15th Avenue. No information has been released about why the officer confronted Bueno in the first place, and little information has be revealed about what lead to the shooting other than the claim that Bueno was armed with a knife.
The Miami Herald reports that Bueno was HIV-positive and dealing with mental health issues, but his grandmother Angela Vasquez says that he had gone off his medication.
Though Bueno sometimes stayed with her, he'd often go off missing for a few days and would occasionally get arrested for his odd behavior. She insists though that he wasn't violent.
Bueno would often ask stranger for 50 cents, and never reacted negatively when they didn't have it.
"If you didn't have it, he'd still say thank you," a neighbor told The Herald.
Some in the community think there's little chance Bueno was actually holding a knife.
"That's a lie that he was carrying a knife," Raquel Recinos tells The Herald. "He barely carried keys to get into his own house. His nails were so long, that I doubt he even had a nail cutter to use as a weapon."
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