Security guard shot colleague in fight over gate lock, cops say

The security guard accused of shooting his colleague during a shift change at the Hollywood Water Treatment plant last month was arrested in El Salvador while trying to flee to Nicaragua, police said Monday.

Andres Aviles, 26, of Miami, was returned to South Florida and picked up by authorities Jan. 9 at Miami International Airport. He was booked into the Broward Main Jail on Wednesday, said Miranda Grossman, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Police Department.

Aviles is being held without bond on a charge of attempted second-degree murder, records show.

Wilner Duce, 49, of Miami, survived the shooting to his abdomen but remains hospitalized at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he has undergone at least three surgeries to his kidney, pancreas and stomach, said a woman who identified herself as his wife on Monday.

“He’s still in the hospital,” she said. “I don’t know when he will come home.”

The two Regions Security guards were in the middle of a shift change on Dec. 3 at the plant, 3441 Hollywood Boulevard, when they apparently got into a tussle over how a gate was locked, a police report said.

Regions Security, based in Miami, did not return a call seeking comment for this report.

The argument escalated into a physical altercation which resulted in the shooting, according to the report.

When police arrived, Duce was on the ground claiming “he shot me, he shot me” as Aviles holstered his 9 mm Glock.

Aviles put his hands in the air and told police: “He just accosted me, he was assaulting me … and it’s all on video.”

Although there was closed-circuit TV, no footage could be accessed.

Duce, who lay on the ground bleeding, was also armed. His 9 mm Taurus was snapped into a holster. The safety was on and there was no bullet in the chamber, the police report said.

Aviles told police he drew his gun for protection after Duce punched the gate door and caused it to hit Aviles in the chest.

Aviles said he followed Duce and while struggling to disarm him, the shot was fired, according to the report. Aviles was not immediately arrested.

Sometime after giving a statement to police, he drove to Mexico. From there he flew to San Salvador, where he was detained while trying to travel on to Nicaragua, Grossman said.