HIALEAH, Fla. – A man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting and stabbing incident that left one person dead and two others injured during a dispute at a Hialeah home on Wednesday, authorities confirmed Friday.
Milton Cao, 50, was taken into custody and is facing one count each of second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted person, according to Hialeah police.
The incident happened around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 3900 block of West 10th Court. Officers responded to reports of a shooting and arrived to find one person dead and two others wounded.
A neighbor, Yeika Castro, told Local 10 News in Spanish that she heard what sounded like a gunshot before witnessing a man running outside.
“I heard a shot, opened the door, and when I came out, a man was running,” Castro said. “I knew something had happened because, for me, it was a kid running.”
According to Hialeah police spokesman Jose Torres, the dispute inside the home escalated when the suspect armed himself with a knife and attacked a man in his 50s. The victim’s 16-year-old son saw the attack and intervened, sustaining multiple cuts to his arms in the process, investigators said.
Police said as the attacker attempted to leave the home, Cao, who was armed with a gun, shot him in the back, killing him at the scene.
Authorities said paramedics transported the injured victims to local hospitals.
The teenager was taken to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. His father was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and remains in critical but stable condition, according to police.
Detectives were seen combing through the scene late into the night, searching for evidence, including inside trash cans, as they worked to piece together what happened.
Police have not released a motive at this time but confirmed that Cao was taken into custody.
As of Friday, Cao is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond is listed as “to be set.”
Jail records show Cao had a previous arrest on a cocaine possession charge.
