Gunman Kills Fla. Cop After Traffic Stop

By DAVID FISCHER

CUTLER BAY, Fla. – A gunman opened fire on four Miami-Dade County police officers during a traffic stop Thursday, killing one and injuring the other three before fleeing and triggering a manhunt across South Florida.

The officers were conducting burglary surveillance when they stopped the man because he was driving a car erratically, police spokeswoman Linda O’Brien said. The man opened fire with a high-powered weapon without warning and fled. It was not immediately clear whether the officers returned fire.

TV footage showed several officers briefly surrounding a house, guns drawn, before moving on. Others swept through a grassy area on foot and picked through a garbage truck.

Several schools were locked down during the search in Cutler Bay, in suburban Miami.

Authorities were looking for Shawn Sherwin Labeet, 25, who may have been wearing a bulletproof vest.

Labeet’s girlfriend had earlier given officers the name of another man, Alvarez said. Investigators wasted several hours looking for him before he came forward hundreds of miles away in Jacksonville, hearing that he was wanted. He was not involved in the shooting.

“I’m sure she’ll be facing some charges,” Alvarez said of Labeet’s girlfriend.

Alvarez identified the dead officer as Jose Somohano, 37, a married father of two. Another officer, Jody Wright, 31, underwent several hours of surgery to repair a severely injured leg. The other two officers were treated and released.

Two other officers were shot separately last month in neighboring Broward County. One was killed, the other badly injured.