Suspect Arrested in Shooting of Doral Police Officer Outside Palmetto Bay Home

The Miami-Dade Police Department said it has arrested a suspect in connection with the robbery and shooting of an off-duty Doral Police officer.

The MDPD identified the suspect as 22-year-old Florida City resident Kionne Bell, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder, armed robbery, aggravated battery on a person aged 65 or older and armed burglary.

The officer was shot Tuesday night during an armed robbery.

"Investigators say that the couple [was] followed home by the subjects and robbed. The subjects and the victims were involved in a struggle, at which point a firearm was discharged, resulting in Mr. King being shot in the arm," MDPD said in a statement.

Emergency response crews responded to the scene in Palmetto Bay near Southwest 82nd Avenue east of U.S. 1.

The officer injured is 70-year-old Lt. Gary King, who was in stable condition after being taken to the Jackson South Medical Center. He first became an officer in 1969 and has worked in several departments since.

"Lt. King was one of the founders of our police department. For those who know him he has been very proud of being here in Doral," Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez said at a news conference Wednesday. "I can tell you when had the chance to speak with him last night and in a very difficult moment he is in great spirits."

Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said King may have been followed home and was approached by two men in his driveway. The suspects stole King's gun along with some jewelry and other items before fleeing in a red four-door Toyota.

Police detained three individuals, including Bell, to determine their involvement. Another suspect is at large, police said.

"We have two individuals that are armed with the officer's gun and these individuals are brazen enough obviously to commit the robbery, the act that they did, so we consider them armed and dangerous," Zabaleta said.

"It's fortunate enough that he's alive, that he's doing well, this could have been a very tragic incident, a tragic ending," Zabaleta said.