A tragic incident unfolded in Southwest Miami-Dade early Wednesday when a man ended his life with a gunshot, the bullet also striking his girlfriend, authorities said. The 33-year-old man reportedly shot himself in the head, and the projectile then hit his 34-year-old girlfriend in the vicinity.
The man was found deceased at the home, located at the 11000 block of Southwest 30th Street, after Miami-Dade Police responded to the scene around 4 a.m., according to NBC Miami. His girlfriend, wounded by the same bullet, was able to contact emergency services despite her injury, and she was subsequently transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital where she is now stable after initial critical condition.
During this harrowing event, it is reported by police that the couple's four minor children, aged between 5 and 12, were present but thankfully unharmed; they are now being cared for by other family members. "This clearly is a suicide at this point, not necessarily a domestic attempted murder-suicide," Miami-Dade Police Det. Alvaro Zabaleta suggested in a statement to the press, "It appears that this individual took his own life and in the process almost took his girlfriend's life as well," gleaned from an interview with NBC Miami.
The Miami-Dade Police Department, while conducting their investigation, is expected to confer with the children about the incident to piece together the details of the situation, "Investigators are going to be talking to them to see in fact what can they provide, what information they can provide that can help them in this investigation," Zabaleta commented as per WSVN. The identities of the man and his girlfriend have not been released by officials as the investigation is still ongoing.
