Chase and shootout involving hijacked UPS truck in Florida lead to four deaths

By Alex Johnson | NBC |

Four people are dead after a UPS truck was commandeered following an attempted armed robbery on South Florida’s glitzy Miracle Mile Thursday, leading police on a two-county rush-hour chase that ended in a hail of gunfire, authorities said.

Two people suspected to have been the robbers, the UPS driver and an uninvolved nearby motorist were killed 20 miles away after the nationally televised freeway pursuit, said George Piro, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office.

The incident began in Miami-Dade County at about 4:15 p.m., when two people tried to rob Regent Jewelers on the Miracle Mile, the downtown stretch of Coral Gables that is home to many glamorous stores and restaurants, Piro said.

The suspects exchanged gunfire with the owner of the jewelry store, and a worker was being treated for undisclosed injuries, Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak Jr. said. At least one bullet also hit a window at City Hall, where no injuries were reported, Hudak said.

Read more of this story