MIAMI – Miami police are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred early Wednesday morning in the city’s Brickell neighborhood.
According to Officer Kiara Delva, officers responded to the area of Southwest First Avenue and Eighth Street around 12:45 a.m. after receiving reports about a shooting.
“It was like about six or seven -- it was a bunch of gunshots,” a resident who lives in the area near Brickell City Centre said.
Delva said officers found a man in the street who had been shot.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and later identified as 24-year-old Jalen Alexander Spence.
Detectives covered the victim’s body with a white sheet before placing several evidence markers on the ground nearby.
“There (was) some sort of confrontation between a group of people and the subject, who pulled out the gun and began shooting at the victim, eventually killing him,” Officer Mike Vega said.
Police later confirmed that Spence had gotten into an argument with a woman prior to the shooting and allegedly hit her.
According to authorities, a man who was with the woman saw that Spence had a gun pointed at the woman, so he fired at him, killing him.
Police said detectives are working with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office to determine whether this was a case of self-defense.
The scene was roped off for hours Wednesday morning as crime scene technicians took photos of the area -- one of the busiest parts of Brickell.
One nearby resident sent Local 10 News a photo taken just one block away that appeared to show two people in handcuffs shortly after the shooting.
Officers confirmed that they detained those people as possible witnesses.
“We have detained two people that were in the area who were possible witnesses to what happened, and we’re interviewing these people that we detained,” Vega said. “We’re gathering video surveillance from nearby buildings to see if whatever the witnesses are telling us corroborates what the witnesses are saying.”
Police said no suspects are at large, but the investigation remains ongoing and it’s unclear whether the shooter, whose name hasn’t been released, will face charges.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Miami Police Department or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.