Miami police are looking for more witnesses after a naked man was fatally shot by a police officer after he refused to stop chewing on the face of another naked man, MSNBC is reporting. Detective William Moreno said officers are looking for people who saw the incident unfold on the MacArthur Causeway, a downtown highway ramp.
Police have released few details on the attack, but the suspect, 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, growled at an officer who told him to stop chewing the other man’s face. The victim, who hasn’t been identified, has been hospitalized in critical condition.
One officer speculated that Eugene had taken a new potent form of LSD. An emergency room doctor suggested that he used bath salts, a drug with amphetamine-like chemicals.
Larry Vega, who witnessed the crime on Saturday afternoon, said he told Eugene to stop. When he refused, Vega found a police officer, who also ordered Eugene to stop. That’s when Eugene growled at the officer. Vega said the officer subsequently shot the attacker. When he fired a second time, he killed Eugene.
The victim was then rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital with 75 percent of his face missing. Sgt. Javier Ortiz, the vice president of the Miami police union, said he hopes the victim pulls through, because only he knows what happened.
Written by: Karen Benardello