Suspect and security guard dead, officer and 6 bystanders wounded in Miami-area bar shooting, police say

Originally Published: 06 APR 24 12:18 ET

Updated: 08 APR 24 09:23 ET

By Sarah Dewberry, Alaa Elassar and Melissa Alonso, CNN

(CNN) — Police in Doral, Florida, have identified the suspected gunman they said was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers following a dispute at a bar early Saturday that ended with a security guard dead, an officer shot and six innocent bystanders injured in the crossfire.

The Miami-Dade Police Department identified the suspected shooter as 37-year-old Jamal Wayne Wood in an update Sunday.

The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. at the Martini Bar, a nightclub in CityPlace Doral, a retail district in the city about five miles west of Miami.

The violence comes as the US has tallied more than 100 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.

Exactly a year prior to Saturday’s shooting, officers participated in an extensive training session for a mass casualty active shooter drill at the same establishment, Doral Police Chief Edwin Lopez said.

The incident began as “an altercation amongst patrons at a local establishment,” according to Doral Police Department spokesperson Alicia Neal.

A security guard on duty intervened but was fatally shot by the gunman, Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said during a news conference Saturday morning. Police identified the guard as 23-year-old George Alejandro Castellanos.

Doral Police Department officers who were working in the area responded to the scene, where they encountered the gunman and exchanged fire, Zabaleta said.

Two Doral officers discharged their weapons, including one who was shot. Six bystanders also suffered gunshot wounds during the exchange, Zabaleta said.

“It’s too early to tell who was shot by who,” Lopez said at the news conference.

The injured officer sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the lower extremity, according to Zabaleta. The officer has been a member of the force for four years and applied his tourniquet immediately after being struck, Lopez said.

The others who were injured include two women and four men, Miami-Dade Police said in a news release Sunday. Zabaleta initially said the victims included one woman and five men.

One victim was transported to Jackson Trauma Center, where they were listed in critical condition, Zabaleta said. Another victim was taken to Kendall Regional Trauma Center in critical condition. The other four victims were stable, according to Neal.

William Suedois, who lives in an apartment building near the establishment where the shooting took place, told CNN affiliate WPLG he heard gunshots but couldn’t tell where they were coming from.

“I thought it was fireworks. Then I heard probably 10 or 15 directly after that – very, very fast and very loud. It was very scary – very scary,” Suedois said. “And my apartment is pretty close to all the music – it was very loud. I felt it in my chest.”

The Miami-Dade Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are assisting in the investigation.

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