A 22-year-old Miami man is facing an attempted murder charge after police say he shot at his girlfriend in the parking lot of an apartment building in Coconut Creek, then fled before officers tracked him to a Fort Lauderdale short-term rental roughly 12 hours later. Benje Pierre was taken into custody at the rental home on September 22, 2026, following a shooting outside the apartment building the previous afternoon.
Coconut Creek police say the shooting happened at approximately 2:49 p.m. on September 21, 2026, in a parking lot along West Hillsboro Boulevard, according to an official Coconut Creek Police Department statement. Police formally charged Pierre with attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm while committing a felony, and discharging a firearm in public, per that same statement.
According to Coconut Creek Talk, the shooting followed an argument between Pierre and his girlfriend, with 911 callers reporting two people fighting and four or five gunshots. Witnesses reported a man fleeing the scene in a newer-model dark gray BMW SUV, the outlet reported, citing the arrest affidavit.
What the Affidavit Describes
Per the affidavit relayed by the same outlet, the argument began after Pierre's girlfriend confronted him about suspected infidelity. She told investigators in a sworn recorded statement that the couple had dated for about seven years and had moved into the apartment together several months earlier.
The girlfriend tried to pepper-spray Pierre, but the spray only hit the BMW's car door, the affidavit states. Pierre then drove away, circled the parking lot, and returned, at which point he fired a gun at her from about three to five feet away, according to the report. She dropped to the ground and stayed there until he left.
When officers arrived, they found her crying, disheveled, and hyperventilating, the affidavit says. Investigators recovered three spent shell casings in the grass, which a crime scene investigator collected as evidence. Property management told police the apartment complex's surveillance cameras were not working at the time, according to the same account.
Firearms Found Inside the Apartment
Officers searching the apartment afterward recovered an AR-15-style rifle in the kitchen, an extended Glock magazine on the counter, and a second Glock magazine on the primary bedroom bed, the arrest affidavit reported by Coconut Creek Talk states. Pepper spray was also found on the counter, per that report.
The discovery came just hours after a separate brush with law enforcement. Wilton Manors police had pulled Pierre over for speeding on the morning of September 21, roughly 13 hours before the shooting, and found a black handgun with him during that stop, the affidavit indicates. Officers cited him for speeding and released him with a warning.
Tracking the Suspect to an Airbnb
Detectives used cell phone location data to track Pierre to a short-term rental in the 1400 block of Northeast 18th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, according to the affidavit. Before moving in, Fort Lauderdale police flew a drone over the rental property to check for dangers and determine whether anyone inside was awake, the same report states.
Pierre was arrested at the property on September 22, 2026, and transported to the Broward County Main Jail, according to Fort Lauderdale police records cited in the reporting.
What Pierre Could Face Under Florida Law
Under Florida Statutes Section 782.04 and Section 782.051, attempted murder is classified as a first-degree felony punishable by up to life imprisonment, according to Florida statute. Separately, Florida Statute Section 790.15 generally treats knowingly discharging a firearm in a public place or on residential property as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail, though discharging a firearm from inside a vehicle elevates the offense to a felony, per the Florida Legislature.
State crime data offers some context for the level of violent crime historically reported in the city. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Coconut Creek recorded 59 aggravated assaults and 1,116 total index offenses in 2018.
