Miami, Florida – A tragedy unfolded in a Miami apartment when 62-year-old Luciano Matute was shot to death in front of his granddaughter. The suspect, Carlos Manuel Rosales, 38, has been arrested and is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting, according to Miami Police officials.
The incident took place in the early hours on Thursday in the 700 block of Southwest 5th Street in Little Havana. Matute was found on the stairs of the building with a gunshot wound to his chest and was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Surveillance footage captured a man entering the apartment building and moments later, Matute was seen falling down the stairs. His granddaughter, who was in the apartment, witnessed the tragic event and fled the scene. The suspect, with his head covered, was seen running away as neighbors gathered outside.
The granddaughter had called her mother, reporting an intruder in the apartment which led Matute to investigate. As he confronted the suspect, the situation escalated into a fatal shooting, leaving the family devastated. Rosales, who is the uncle of the granddaughter and married to the mother’s sister, confessed to the murder after being apprehended by the police.
In a shocking turn of events, Rosales was also arrested on separate charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child unrelated to the shooting. The allegations involve inappropriate touching of an 11-year-old girl. The swift action of Miami Police Homicide and Special Victims Detectives led to the arrest of the perpetrator within hours of the tragic incident.
Rosales is currently in custody awaiting his court appearance as the investigation continues into the heartbreaking loss of Luciano Matute and the disturbing allegations of misconduct involving a young child. The community is left reeling from the events that transpired, highlighting the importance of swift justice in such heinous crimes.