The family of a maintenance worker who was shot inside the Temple Court apartment complex before it was set on fire was praying for a miracle.
On Tuesday, the victim, 30-year-old Feder Biotte, appeared to be responsive and improving, his cousin and godfather said.
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“He’s going to be OK,” Reynold Romeus said Tuesday outside Jackson Memorial Hospital. “That’s a miracle. That’s a miracle, because I did not expect that and we’re gonna continue praying.”
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Biotte was rushed to the hospital in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the stomach in front of the Temple Court apartments at 431 Northwest 3rd Street. The suspect, 73-year-old Juan Francisco Figueroa, was arrested later that day and is being held without bond.
It is still unclear why Figueroa allegedly opened fire and set the building aflame.
Romeus said he hasn’t eaten or slept since the shooting.
"They gotta do what they gotta do. If they find [Figueroa] guilty of anything, he's got to go to jail, that's all," he said.
Romeus was a little more optimistic about his cousin's condition Tuesday. He said Biotte tried responding to him after he told him he loved him at his bedside. Romeus said Biotte fluttered his eyes, made eye contact and tried to wiggle his fingers.
But the maintenance worker isn’t out of the clear yet. Biotte has another major surgery on Thursday, when doctors will reopen his abdomen.
“I believe in God, and I know sooner or later, God is going to make him stand up and walk,” Romeus said.
The blaze at Temple Court displaced 43 people on Monday morning. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said 126 firefighters fought the flames for around 8 hours, a historic response for the city's fire rescue department.
Residents spent Monday night at a nearby park before they were taken to a hotel in Doral on Tuesday.
The Miami Fire Investigation Unit, Miami Police Department and State Fire Marshal's office are investigating.
