Police arrest suspected shooter in Turnpike shooting

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Florida. – Police on Wednesday identified a suspect who they say shot another man on the Florida Turnpike in southwest Miami-Dade.

According to a Miami-Dade Police Department arrest report, Braian Axel Gimenez, 26, of Miami, faces charges of premeditated attempted murder, shooting or launching a deadly missile, discharge firearm from a vehicle and illegal use of a firearm.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez said the shooting was reported shortly before midnight Monday in the northbound lanes of the highway near Southwest 257th Terrace.

Rodriguez said officers arrived on scene and found a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound and a woman, who was not injured, inside the vehicle.

Medics took the man to Jackson South Medical Center in critical condition.

The woman involved in the shooting told detectives in a statement that she was in the passenger seat of a vehicle when she noticed a gray Mercedes-Benz parked on the side of the highway and saw Gimenez run near the vehicle she was in.

The woman told the driver to speed away from the area, fearing for her life, due to previous violent incidents with Gimenez, according to an arrest report.

Police said that as Gimenez began chasing the victim while on the northbound Turnpike from 137th Avenue Southwest, approaching 112th Avenue Southwest, Gimenez s approached the victim's vehicle and opened fire.

At the same time, the man inside the vehicle was struck by gunfire in the head, causing him to lose control of his vehicle and crash into a tree, police said.

Police said Gimenez did not stop and fled the scene heading north on the Turnpike.

Police later confirmed that Gimenez was at the Villa Capri Apartments, located in the 14400 block of Southwest 284th Street in the Leisure City neighborhood.

Investigators said they responded to the scene and found six shell casings at the crime scene. The spent shell casings were then recovered and the victim's vehicle was towed.

Detectives said the female passenger inside the victim's car provided detectives with a photo of Gimenez and identified him as the suspect.

Authorities have not identified the relationship between Gimenez and the victims and the motive remains unclear at this time.

The female victim appeared in court via Zoom Wednesday morning and told the judge that the male victim involved in the shooting lost his vision as a result of the shooting.

Gimenez appeared in a Miami-Dade courtroom Wednesday, where a judge held him without bail and ordered him to stay away from the two victims. He was also prohibited from using weapons and ammunition.