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Assault Weapon Attacks Rising In Miami

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The Associated Press

Published: September 15, 2007

MIAMI - The spray of bullets that killed one Miami-Dade County police officer and hurt three others this week came from something increasingly common on this city's streets.

Once solely found in the hands of soldiers, high-powered assault weapons like the one police said was used in Thursday's attack are becoming the guns of choice for gang members and other violent criminals. When they are aimed at officers on patrol, there's little authorities can do to escape.

'It's almost like we have water pistols going up against these high-powered rifles,' said John Rivera, president of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association. 'Our weaponry and our bulletproof vests don't match up to any of those types of weapons.'

Police do not yet know where the 25-year-old suspect in the shooting of the Miami-Dade officers got his weapon. Shawn Sherwin Labeet was found hours later and 30 miles from the crime scene. Police said they shot and killed him after he refused to drop his firearm.

Cmdr. Linda O'Brien said the department was helping plan the funeral of Officer Jose Somohano. Officer Jody Wright was recovering from a gunshot wound to the right leg. The other two officers were treated and released.

On Friday, officers arrested four others accused of aiding Labeet. Alba Bello, 47; her son, Alain Gonzalez, 24; and Bello's boyfriend, Lazaro Guardiola, 35, all were charged with accessory after the fact for helping Labeet get away. Labeet's girlfriend, Renee Dangelo, 26, also was charged with giving police false information.

Federal officials don't compile statistics on the number of crimes involving assault weapons such as the AK-47, and local municipalities' numbers across the country are patchwork, but there are signs it is becoming a major issue.

In 2005, the Miami-Dade Police Department reported two homicides involving an assault rifle; by last year there were 10. That agency covers numerous unincorporated areas in the nation's eighth-largest county, but not the biggest cities, which have their own police forces.

The Miami Police Department said 15 of its 79 homicides last year involved assault weapons, up from the year before. This year, already 12 of the 60 homicides have involved the high-power guns.

Carlos Baixauli, a Miami-based special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the numbers reflect growing availability of the weapons and their elevation to a status symbol among gang members.

'In the early '80s to '90s, it was more common to have a handgun in your waistband and the bigger the caliber, the more powerful you were,' Baixauli said. 'Now it's escalated to the assault weapons.'

Another issue potentially at play is the 2004 expiration of the federal assault weapons ban, 10 years after its passage. The legislation outlawed 19 types of guns, including the semiautomatic AK-47.

The guns are readily available on streets, Baixauli said, or can be ordered by mail for less than $200.

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