Miami-Dade Police officers were involved in a shooting Wednesday evening, which began as an alleged kidnapping. NBC 6’s Steve Litz reports.
Miami-Dade Police officers were involved in a shooting Wednesday evening, which began as an alleged kidnapping.
It happened around 6:30 p.m. near Southwest 355th Street and Southwest 180th Avenue.
A MDPD officer shot and killed a man who detectives said kidnapped 38-year-old Sarah Allen and drove her out a wooded area along 180th Avenue.
41-year-old Francis Scot Dufore, Allen's ex-husband, had driven to South Florida from Louisiana in a stolen vehicle and found Allen at a grocery store in Homestead, police said.
He ordered her into the car at gunpoint and drove away, then started to strangle her until she lost consciousness, police said.
When Allen woke up, she found herself in the wooded area and called 911, but said nothing. Police were able to trace the call, and officers and K-9 units went looking for her. They established a perimeter and a police helicopter was utilized.
Officers found the car empty in the woods, and said Dufore then confronted an officer and pointed his shotgun at him. That's when the officer fired back, killing Dufore.
Allen came out of the woods, apparently unharmed.
"Thank God she's okay. I hope she's okay. It could've been worse," said Gloria Smith, victim's friend.
Authorities said the couple were divorced with four children in common. The children were in DCF custody prior to the incident.
The officer who shot Dufore is a 23-year veteran and a K-9 officer, officials said.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.
