Homeland Security officers shoot, kill a man during ‘financial’ investigation in Gables

A man was killed Friday afternoon in Coral Gables when agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security opened fire during an investigation into some sort of financial scheme, and after the man “brandished” a weapon, a Homeland Security spokesman said.

The agents were treated at a local hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, said Nestor Yglesias, spokesman for Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“During a large-scale financial investigation, an individual brandished a weapon at special agents with Homeland Security Investigations, as a result agents fired at the suspect,” Yglesias said in a statement.

Yglesias said investigators recovered a weapon at the scene. He said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the shooting and that HSI would not comment any more about the incident.

The mid-afternoon shooting happened near the corner of Alhambra Circle and Blue Road, a busy Coral Gables intersection in a residential neighborhood that was shut down along with surrounding roadways as investigators gathered evidence and conducted forensic exams.

The scope of the HSI investigation wasn’t immediately clear. It also wasn’t clear if any other law enforcement agencies were involved, though Coral Gables and Miami-Dade police said none of their agents had anything to do with the shooting.

Helicopter footage from CBS4 Miami showed what looked like a body under a yellow tarp inside a silver Chevrolet minivan. WPLG Channel 10 reported that the incident involved two vehicles, a Chrysler minivan with bullet holes and a pickup truck.

The FDLE and HSI had not released the names of the man shot in the van or the agents by early evening. The Office of Professional Responsibility in the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating.

Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.