Latest news with #RosieCordero-Stutz
American Military News
26-04-2025
- American Military News
Cheer camp dad is a hero after killing gunman in shooting near Florida's Tropical Park, sources say
A father accompanying his child at a Miami-Dade cheer camp Thursday was forced to become a hero when a disgruntled man at a nearby auto mechanic shop decided to shoot a man with a shotgun, sources told The Miami Herald. Around 1 p.m., parents at Idol Cheer, a cheerleading training camp, saw a man armed with a shotgun shoot what appeared to be an employee at Priced Right Motors, 7321 SW 45th St., sources at the camp said. Police activity as Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office investigates a shooting near Southwest 75th Avenue and 45th Street. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS) The unidentified father rushed to the children and frantically searched for somewhere to shelter them. That's when he thought the gunman might open fire at the kids — he pulled out his own gun and shot him before that could happen, sources said. He then promptly rushed the children to safety. Heavily armed Miami-Dade Sheriff's deputies soon swarmed the warehouse district not far from Tropical Park in response to the shooting. Three people were wounded, including the gunman, who later died, according to a source close to the investigation. All three were taken to the hospital from the shooting location near Southwest 73rd Avenue and Southwest 45th Street, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told reporters at a news conference. Cordero-Stutz said that preliminary information indicates one of the people taken to the hospital is the shooter. She added the community should be calm but urged people to avoid the area. A police officer blocks traffic as Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office investigates a shooting near Southwest 75th Avenue and 45th Street, in the warehouse district south of Bird Road on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Miami. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS) Deputies did not confirm details on the father at the cheer camp who shot the gunman. Families gathered, waiting for loved ones near where the shooting took place. At least 23 children from the cheer camp were hunkered down behind crime scene tape, waiting to be reunited with their families. Deputies asked parents to go to 7391 SW 44th St, which has been set up as a reunification center. Rudy Sorondo's 10-year-old daughter was one of the cheerleaders who heard the shots, her father told the Herald. Sorondo, a strength trainer, was with a client when he heard through the parents' app about a possible active shooter and that the girls were locked down inside the training camp. 'It was madness,' he said, noting that about an hour passed between when the shots were fired and deputies reunited the girls with their parents. When they did emerge, some of the girls saw people lying on the ground, bleeding. Deputies tried to shield the children's eyes as they walked past the bloodshed. A police officer stands by as Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office investigates a shooting near Southwest 75th Avenue and 45th Street, in the warehouse district south of Bird Road on Thursday, April 24, 2025, Miami. (Daniel A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS) 'The girls were freaking out. They never saw that much blood, let alone from gunfire,' Sorondo said. Initial details were sketchy, but a string of squad cars were lined up on Southwest 42nd Street near Southwest 73rd Avenue. Deputies armed with high-powered rifles and wearing tactical vests poured in. According to the police scanners on Broadcastify, 911 callers reported police were engaged in some sort of shootout near an auto repair center. It wasn't immediately clear how many people might have been hurt in the confrontation. Several business owners and workers were bewildered by the sudden massive police presence as several armed deputies rushed in with shotguns and high-powered assault rifles. Manuel, who did not want to give his last name, works at a business just a few feet away from the shooting. He said he heard at least six shots, but it didn't dawn on him at first what was happening. 'When I took it seriously was when I started seeing people running away,' Manuel said. A worker at a detail shop in the industrial zone was out for lunch when a coworker frantically texted about the shooting. 'It was like a scene out of a movie,' the worker said of what he saw when he rushed back to the auto body shop. 'There was a big fight a few months ago, but you don't see this around here.' An employee at a Mercedes-Benz overflow lot, who did not want to be named, heard the rapid gunfire and raced to the commotion to see what was going on. 'If they got the dude, thank God,' he said. A video shared on the social media platform OnlyinDade captures a chaotic scene as several people watch from inside what appears to be an auto repair shop while loud gunshots ring out nearby. As the shots echo, bystanders scramble for cover while armed law enforcement officers rush around the area, some with their weapons drawn. The massive response created traffic in the area as Southwest 70th-75th Avenues and Southwest 41st to 48th Street were closed. Bird Road has since reopened. By 2 p.m., TV footage from the area showed dozens of deputies still searching or gathered near the warehouses. ___ © 2025 Miami Herald. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Miami Herald
17-04-2025
- Miami Herald
‘Significant errors': Sheriff suspends Miami school district's bus camera program
The controversial school bus camera ticketing program that sent $225 fines to drivers in Miami-Dade County is being suspended, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz announced Thursday. The program started in May and has since impacted more than 100,000 drivers accused of illegally passing stopped school buses after the vehicles' stop arms were extended. The sheriff pointed to major errors in tickets that were issued and the inability of people to appeal their citations for the cancellation of the program. 'Unfortunately, upon extensive review of the program, we've identified significant errors in the [Uniform Traffic Violations] that were issued and mailed by BusPatrol,' Cordero-Stutz said during a press briefing at the sheriff office's Doral headquarters. 'These errors are unacceptable, and they undermine both the fairness and the trust of the system.' A joint investigation by the Miami Herald and The Tributary, a Florida-based not-for-profit newsroom, published in early March found that many motorists who did nothing wrong were receiving violation notices and were unable to challenge them. The investigation also revealed the contract with BusPatrol, the company that administers the program, was signed in a hasty manner by the school district, without a bidding process. The contract, which generates revenue for the district, was signed just 12 days after the school board asked staff to do a 'feasibility study' on the program. The School Bus Safety Program kickstarted last year, with BusPatrol installing cameras on all Miami-Dade school buses to catch motorists in the act of illegally passing a school bus with its 'stop-arm' extended. Revenue numbers provided by the school district indicate the program was flagging more than 407 paid violations per day, seven days a week, generating a staggering $19.5 million in the first six months of the program. Soon after the Herald/Tributary report, Cordero-Stutz announced she was suspending enforcement of some of the tickets after receiving complaints. 'Break in the chain of communication' At the Thursday press conference, Cordero-Stutz pointed out more problems with the program. Many of the Uniform Traffic Citations issued did not have the correct citation number on them and the wrong fee amount, making it 'impossible for our community to resolve their violations within the required 30-day period by either paying the correct fine or requesting an appeal,' she said. The errors meant thousands of people also faced having their driver's licenses suspended. This is because the fees on the citations were actually amounts for what are known as 'Notice of Violations' — a $225 fine. A Uniform Traffic Citation fine is $344. When people who received tickets for passing a stopped bus paid the $225, the system still showed they owed $119, and the state received a notice that their driver's licenses should be suspended, Juan Fernandez-Barquin, Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, said during the briefing. And, since the numbers on the citations were wrong, when people came in to the Clerk of the Court's office to file an appeal for their tickets, staff couldn't even find it in the system. 'It's this break in the chain of communication, in not just the amount, but even in the ability to identify the ticket, that puts these people in a precarious situation,' Fernandez-Barquin said. The break in the chain of communication goes as far back as the language of the law allowing school bus camera programs statewide. A statement from the Miami-Dade Courts from April 8 said that in similar legislation where technology is used to detect traffic infractions, such as the state's red light camera law and school zone speed detection law, challenges are not heard by the courts but by county administrative staff who are assigned to preside as 'local hearing officers.' But in school bus camera law, the burden of hearing complaints 'was placed on the courts without providing funding for the appointment of more judges or hearing officers to handle this new volume of cases,' leading to delays, the statement said. Cordero-Stutz said that her deputies' role in the program was to review Notices of Violations sent to the department by BusPatrol. If the deputies confirmed a driver did illegally pass a school bus, a Uniform Traffic Citation was mailed to that person, Cordero-Stutz said. Cordero-Stutz sent a letter to BusPatrol Thursday, which was shared with the Miami Herald, informing the company that deputies would no longer be reviewing violation notices. 'Our commitment to traffic safety and the needs of our community remains unwavering. It is, however, equally critical that enforcement programs operate with the highest levels of accuracy, transparency and public trust,' Cordero-Stutz wrote. The sheriff said at the briefing that the sheriff's office has asked BusPatrol to identify how the errors occurred. 'Concerns must be fully investigated and resolved,' she said. Miami-Dade County Public Schools says they have been informed that the sheriff's office has discontinued the program, and that they are still determining next steps. Drivers who have received either Notices of Violations or Uniform Traffic Citations under the program prior to Thursday's announcement must still pay the fines, the sheriff said. But, moving forward, the program is suspended, she said. Cordero-Stutz admitted this left people who already paid the fines with limited options. 'At this time, all I have to say is they have the opportunity to speak to their own personal attorney to seek what their rights are,' she said. Nandhini Srinivasan, an investigative reporting fellow with The Tributary, a Florida nonprofit investigative newsroom, contributed to this report.
CBS News
17-04-2025
- CBS News
Miami-Dade suspends School Bus Safety Program after system errors and legal concerns
Miami-Dade County has suspended its School Bus Safety Citation Program effective immediately, following months of public controversy and the discovery of significant system errors that impacted drivers' ability to properly respond to traffic violations, officials announced Thursday. The program, which launched on May 8, 2024, used cameras mounted on school buses to catch drivers illegally passing stopped buses or speeding near them. While it aimed to increase student safety, Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said the initiative was marred by issues with uniform traffic citations and notices of violation — some of which incorrectly listed a $225 fine. "These errors make it impossible for the community to respond to the violations within a 30-day period by either paying the fine or requesting an appeal," Cordero-Stutz said. "These errors are unacceptable and they undermine the trust in the system." Nushin Sayfie, Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit, emphasized the importance of due process, saying courts must "adjudicate cases… in a fair and effective way." Clerk of Courts Juan Fernandez Barquin went further, calling the underlying statute "horribly written." While citations will no longer be issued going forward, Cordero-Stutz confirmed that those issued prior to the suspension are still valid and must be paid. She said the county will now evaluate how the program failed despite its good intentions.
