MIAMI -- A Miami police officer fatally shot a man holding a metal pipe in a downtown park where dozens of people were present Thursday, including several children, authorities said.
The shooting happened after officers responded to calls about a violent disturbance at Gibson Park, Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said. He said the man was shot when he refused to drop the pipe. The nature of the disturbance was not immediately clear.
Police said in a news release that the man was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Llanes said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
He added that several dozen people were in the park, many of them children, who may have witnessed what happened.
"I understand the anxiety that's been created across the country from police-citizen interactions, but I would ask that everyone wait for the facts of the case and not make up your own story," Llanes told reporters. "We will know what the facts of the case are."
The chief added that the officer involved in the shooting, who is a 20-year veteran of the department, will be reassigned to administrative duties pending the investigation's outcome.
