MIAMI, FL - On Tuesday, January 2, a Sunrise Police Department (SPD) officer was injured during an exchange of gunfire with an armed and wanted suspect. Authorities said that the suspect fired first.
Both the officer and the attempted murder suspect were rushed to the hospital to be treated for their injuries from the shooting. According to reports, the shooting happened around 2:30 p.m. at a parking lot in the 200 block of Northwest 22nd Avenue.
The Sunrise police officer was in Fort Lauderdale conducting an investigation and serving a warrant on the armed suspect. The suspect, 31-year-old Romuliss Hicks, is accused of shooting his girlfriend and the mother of his child as well as stealing her car back on December 30, 2023.
According to the arrest warrant, Hicks and his girlfriend got into an argument and he took her phone away. She told police that she and their infant daughter left and spent the night somewhere else. When she came back to their apartment 24 hours later, Hicks allegedly chased her and knocked her to the ground.
While on the ground, he stood over her and shot her twice in the arm and shoulder. He then fled and stole her car. The girlfriend told detectives that she "thought she was going to be killed" by Hicks. The warrant said that Hicks crashed the vehicle into a parked car. Video showed Hicks later abandoning the car in the parking lot of a shopping plaza.
The warrant said that Hicks had been previously convicted in 2014 of robbery and burglary, and in 2021 of robbery with a firearm and possession by a firearm by a convicted felon. He was reportedly on probation until 2023 for robbery and had been designated a "career offender" and "habitual violent felony offender."
The officer-involved shooting with Hicks in Fort Lauderdale led to a massive response by police. A witness who spoke with CBS News Miami recalled the moments she heard the gunfire. The woman, identified as Magnolia Carrion, said, "Pop, pop, pop, pop! Real loud. And that's when I figured somebody was shooting a real gun."
Police said that were was a confrontation between the officer and Hicks and that is when the shots were fired. Carrion said, "I jumped up and ran behind the pick-up truck and I laid down and I asked my son to come down and lay on the ground with me." Juan Vidal Carrion, another witness said, "I see the police on the ground, terrible."
Casey Liening with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said in a statement, "Both were transported by Fort Lauderdale fire rescue to Broward Health Medical Center. Both are said to be in stable condition at this time."
Hicks is facing several charges including carjacking and attempted murder. He was denied bond during a court appearance on Wednesday, January 3. Liening said that the Fort Lauderdale Police Department will work with the other agencies on what to do with Hicks. She said, "Any charges that the suspect will face as relation to this shooting, we'll work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to make those determinations at a later time."
Both the officer and the attempted murder suspect were rushed to the hospital to be treated for their injuries from the shooting. According to reports, the shooting happened around 2:30 p.m. at a parking lot in the 200 block of Northwest 22nd Avenue.
The Sunrise police officer was in Fort Lauderdale conducting an investigation and serving a warrant on the armed suspect. The suspect, 31-year-old Romuliss Hicks, is accused of shooting his girlfriend and the mother of his child as well as stealing her car back on December 30, 2023.
According to the arrest warrant, Hicks and his girlfriend got into an argument and he took her phone away. She told police that she and their infant daughter left and spent the night somewhere else. When she came back to their apartment 24 hours later, Hicks allegedly chased her and knocked her to the ground.
While on the ground, he stood over her and shot her twice in the arm and shoulder. He then fled and stole her car. The girlfriend told detectives that she "thought she was going to be killed" by Hicks. The warrant said that Hicks crashed the vehicle into a parked car. Video showed Hicks later abandoning the car in the parking lot of a shopping plaza.
The warrant said that Hicks had been previously convicted in 2014 of robbery and burglary, and in 2021 of robbery with a firearm and possession by a firearm by a convicted felon. He was reportedly on probation until 2023 for robbery and had been designated a "career offender" and "habitual violent felony offender."
The officer-involved shooting with Hicks in Fort Lauderdale led to a massive response by police. A witness who spoke with CBS News Miami recalled the moments she heard the gunfire. The woman, identified as Magnolia Carrion, said, "Pop, pop, pop, pop! Real loud. And that's when I figured somebody was shooting a real gun."
Police said that were was a confrontation between the officer and Hicks and that is when the shots were fired. Carrion said, "I jumped up and ran behind the pick-up truck and I laid down and I asked my son to come down and lay on the ground with me." Juan Vidal Carrion, another witness said, "I see the police on the ground, terrible."
Casey Liening with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department said in a statement, "Both were transported by Fort Lauderdale fire rescue to Broward Health Medical Center. Both are said to be in stable condition at this time."
Hicks is facing several charges including carjacking and attempted murder. He was denied bond during a court appearance on Wednesday, January 3. Liening said that the Fort Lauderdale Police Department will work with the other agencies on what to do with Hicks. She said, "Any charges that the suspect will face as relation to this shooting, we'll work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to make those determinations at a later time."
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