Diplomat’s son killed in suspected Miami drug shooting
Miami police say youth and brother tried to rob two marijuana dealers
A teenage son of a Canadian diplomat has been killed and her other teenage son is being held by police in Miami after a shootout during an apparent drug transaction that turned bad, according to media reports.
Miami police said the 17-year-old son of the longtime diplomat was killed, along with another 17-yearold, identified as Joshua White, a suspected Miami drug dealer, according to the Miami Herald and NBC News.
A third man, Anthony Rodriguez, was reportedly wounded but managed to drive away. He was later found at a nearby gas station.
According to the Herald, police believe the two brothers, both armed with guns, planned to rob the drug dealers Monday afternoon at an apartment in the Coral Way district. In the shootout, the elder brother was shot inside the building. “That’s what we believe, it was a dispute over a drug transaction” involving marijuana, Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes told the Herald.
Miami police later arrested the diplomat’s 15-year-old son on a charge of felony murder, the Herald reported. Under Florida law, anyone who participates in a violent felony in which someone dies — in this case, armed robbery — could face a murder charge.
The teens, according to police sources, drove to a small yellow apartment building in their mother’s black BMW with diplomatic licence plates. Detectives were trying to figure out where the teens got the weapons.
A Foreign Affairs spokesman in Ottawa, John Babcock, said late Tuesday the department was “aware of reports of a serious incident involving a Canadian family in Miami” and said assistance was being provided to the family.
He declined to further comment, saying “a full investigation is underway and we will continue assisting local authorities.”
Television images showed blood on the doorway and floor inside the apartment building, and paramedics wheeling one of the three people shot to a waiting ambulance.
The 17-year-old son later died in hospital from gunshot wounds, the NBC affiliate reported, citing a “law enforcement source” who indicated the shooting started when the older teenager entered the apartment while the younger one waited in the car.