TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer died Wednesday after they were accidentally shot in the chest during a training exercise at a Miami-Dade gun range, according to reports.
Miami-based news outlet WPLG reported the shooting took place just before 10:30 a.m. at the Trail Glades Range. The officer was reportedly an instructor who works for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to NBC affiliate WTVJ, the officer suffered a gunshot wound to his chest.
A person who was at the range at the time of the incident told WPLG the shooting happened in an area of the range commonly used by law enforcement officers.
“On the police range side it’s mainly Customs and Border (Protection), they come on Wednesday for practice,” the person said. “Several police officers came running over to the civilian side of the range, where the main office is, and said someone had been shot, stop shooting.”
The officer was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition but where he was later pronounced dead. The officer’s identity was not released but WTVJ reported it’s believed he was in his 30s.
“A great officer, a great family, and it’s a tragic loss,” CBP spokesman Michael Silva told reporters Wednesday.
Hours later, the Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III said, “On behalf of the entire Miami-Dade Police Department I offer my deepest condolences to our brothers and sisters at U.S. Customs and Border Protection as they mourn the loss of their officer.”
The county-owned range is located near the intersection of Southwest 8th Street and Krome Avenue in Miami, just east of the Miccosukee Casino & Resort.
