The Hialeah, Miami man who apparently set fire to $10,000 cash and his apartment before going on a shooting rampage Friday, has been identified as Pedro Alberto Vargas. A 42-year-old graphic artist who lived with his mother, Vargas had no known criminal record prior to the 8-hour standoff which left 7 dead.
The apartment complex where the shooting took place.
Police are investigating claims that Vargas was in a dispute with his building manager, Italo Pisciotti, 79, and his wife, Camira Pisciotti, 69. They were Vargas’s first victims MSN reports, when they ran upstairs to investigate the fire. Vargas then shot, apparently at random, into the street. He was using a 9-millimeter Glock handgun, which he owned legally; he also had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
More than 100 law enforcement officers stormed Vargas’s apartment after 3 hours of negotiating while he held hostages, writes Reuters. In the shootout, which included SWAT teams, Vargas was fatally shot. Neighbors say the Cuban immigrant, who became a U.S. citizen in 2004, was seen jogging and taking his mother to doctor’s appointments regularly, but otherwise he apparently kept to himself.
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