A chase ensued with 40 emergency vehicles pursuing the suspects for about 25 miles through Coral Gables

Crooks fled in rented U-Haul truck but abandoned it a mile away and hijacked UPS truck and driver

Owner exchanged gunfire with robbers and female employee was struck in the head by a ricocheting bullet

Shootout followed a botched armed robbery of the Regent Jewelers in Coral Gables at about 4.15pm

Now Ordonez's brother is speaking out claiming that police are responsible for his death

Slain motorist is identified as Richard Cutshaw, 70, a union representative two years from retirement

Ordonez, the robbers, and an innocent motorist were all killed in the shootout as cops fired 200 rounds

Ordonez was on his first day on the job and was covering the route of a driver who called out sick

They took UPS driver Frank Ordonez, 27, hostage on Thursday near Miami and opened fire on police


Slain: Frank Ordonez, a 27-year-old father of two young girls, was killed Thursday after diamond thieves took him hostage

The UPS driver who was killed in a hostage situation and shootout was covering another driver's route when he died, his brother has said.

Driver Frank Ordonez, a 27-year-old father of two young girls, died in the mayhem along with innocent motorist Richard Cutshaw, a 70-year-old union representative who was two years away from retirement, as well as the two armed robbers who opened fire on cops.

Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, both of Miami-Dade County, were identified by the FBI as the perpetrators of Thursday's armed jewelry store robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and shootout with cops that left both criminals and two others dead.

Records show that both men have extensive felony criminal records, and that Alexander had just been released from prison on an armed robbery conviction.

Ordonez was on his first day of work as a UPS driver when the fatal carnage unfolded, and his brother told CNN that he was covering the route of a driver who had called out sick that day, a common first assignment for rookie UPS drivers.

Just prior to the deadly shootout, the robbers had shot a woman in a jewelry store and fired at cops during a 23-mile high-speed car pursuit, according to the FBI.

When the armed criminals became stuck in traffic in Broward County and again opened fire on police, 19 officers from multiple agencies returned fire, shooting some 200 times at the stolen truck, in an exchange of gunfire that killed both criminals, as well as the innocent men Ordonez and Cutshaw.

Scroll down for videos

Perps: Lamar Alexander, 41, (left) and Ronnie Jerome Hill, 41, (right) both of Miami-Dade County, were identified by the FBI as the perpetrators of Thursday's armed jewelry store robbery, carjacking, kidnapping and shootout with cops

Jewelry store thieves in a hijacked UPS truck are pictured in a shootout with police after a high-speed chase from Coral Gables, Florida, ended when the vehicle got stuck in traffic on a highway near Miramar

Richard Cutshaw, a 70-year-old union representative who was two years away from retirement, was fatally struck in his car

Slain UPS driver's family questions police response to chase

It was not immediately clear who fired the fatal bullets that killed the two innocent men, but Ordonez's family members place the blame for his death on overzealous law enforcement.

'I won't stop until there is justice for your life, the police killed my brother and they must be held accountable,' brother Roy Ordonez wrote in a Facebook post shared by WFOR-TV reporter Amber Diaz.

'I saw on TV when he fell, and I knew it was him. I saw how they killed my brother,' another brother, Luis Ordonez told The Associated Press on Friday.

He said the 'police were insane. Instead of talking to them, they just started shooting. I know they (the robbery suspects) were shooting back at them, but it was easy to just cover behind police cars. They could have just covered themselves.'

FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro was asked at a news conference Thursday night whether either the UPS driver or the other victim could've been killed by police bullets.

'It is very, very early on in the investigation, and it would be completely inappropriate to discuss that,' Piro said. 'We have just began to process the crime scene. As you can imagine, this is going to be a very complicated crime scene.'

A fundraising appeal by Ordonez´s brother Roy accused the officers of being 'trigger happy' and said 'they could have killed many more people.'

Driver Frank Ordonez's brother Roy (left) expressed his anguish on Facebook (right) saying police were to blame for his death

It was Ordonez's (above) first day as a driver after having completed his training, and he had been excited about going to work

Ordonez was the father of two young girls, seen with him above. His family members are questioning the police response after he was kidnapped by desperate diamond thieves

Multiple agencies were involved in the chase and shootout. But Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak suggested the blame belongs with the robbery suspects.

'This is what dangerous people do to get away,' Hudak said. 'And this is what people will do to avoid capture.'

Other law enforcement officials in the area concurred that officers took the only choice they had to avoid risking even more innocent lives with active shooters in a crowded intersection.

'A lot of people will scrutinize law enforcement and the people who were there, but they have to remember one thing, we want our officers to move forward. We want them to shield the public,' said Miami-Dade Police Director J. Perez in a radio interview on Friday morning.

'We've seen not too far from there what happens when the officer doesn't move forward and try to shield the public,' he added, in apparent reference to the so-called 'Broward Coward' at nearby Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, where a sheriff's deputy remained outside listening as a shooter killed 17 students and staff.

'None of this would've happened had it not been for the perpetrators who abducted that young man and led police on this chase that ended in tragedy,' said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez in a statement.

'My heart goes out to the two innocent victims - the hostage and the innocent motorist who were killed in Thursday night's shootout,' he said.

The violence started after two thieves entered Regent Jeweler's store in Coral Gables (1) before they abducted Frank Ordonez's UPS truck a mile away (2). They then led a police chase for 23 miles which ended with a shootout on Flamingo Road (3) which resulted in four people being killed

Video shows sheriff's deputies rushing to surround the truck after it became stopped in traffic on a busy street in Miramar

Carnage began with botched robbery and shootout at jewelry store

The mayhem began when two armed robbers hit the Regent Jewelers in Coral Gables at around 4.15pm on Thursday, and ended a little over an hour later and 25 miles away in a hail of bullets.

Police say the pair of robbers were after diamonds at the Regent Jeweler's store on the Miracle Mile.

After entering the store, employees set off a silent alarm which alerted police, who were on the scene within a minute and a half.

But by that time, the store owner had pulled his own gun and fired upon the surprised robbers, who returned shots, striking a female employee in the head. She is in stable condition.

The jewel thieves then fled in their U-Haul van but ditched it a mile away, where they hijacked the UPS truck and abducted Ordonez, who leaves behind a one-year-old daughter.

The robbers led police on a wild chase for 23 miles, firing at police in pursuit before the truck became stuck in traffic and the criminals opened fire as police closed in.

As many as 19 officers descended on the truck, firing more than 200 rounds, a source told WFOR.

The armed robbers had first targeted Regent Jewelers where they were after diamonds before they became engaged in a shootout with the owner

Coral Gables police officers guard a crime scene perimeter at an alley way south of Coral Way after a robbery at Regent Jewelers

Police reportedly fired some 200 bullets at the hijacked truck (above) in an exchange of gunfire with the criminals

Thursday had been Ordonez's first day as a driver after having completed his training, and that he had been excited about going to work, according to a co-worker.

A GoFundMe page went up late Thursday to raise funds for Ordonez. It was set up by Local 804, a union that represents UPS workers in New York, to help Ordonez's family with funeral costs.

UPS did not mention him by name, but released a statement saying the package delivery company was 'deeply saddened' he had been a 'victim of this senseless violence'.

One bullet was even found to have struck the Coral Gables City Hall during the exchange at the jewelry store.

City Clerk Billy Urquia told the Miami Herald he was in his office when he heard a gun shot.

He then heard a second gun shot and then the sound of a bullet piercing his window.

'The bullet ricocheted off the wall and landed on the floor,' Urquia said Thursday night. 'The last one I heard was the one that came in.'

The suspects then made their escape in the hijacked UPS truck, taking its driver hostage and leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit. The chase was captured by news outlets and broadcast live as the drama unfolded.

Bullet holes are seen around the UPS logo of the truck after the shootout between police and the armed jewelry store robbery suspects who authorities say hijacked the vehicle. As many as 19 officers descended on the truck once it was finally stopped, spraying the vehicle with more than 200 rounds

Rush-hour had started when the truck made its getaway and as many as 40 emergency vehicles pursued.

The UPS truck made its way up the Florida Turnpike, then on to Okeechobee Road and finally Interstate 75 into Broward County.

The suspects fired upon cops during the pursuit, the Miami Herald reports.

After running several red lights and making harrowing maneuvers in an attempt to escape, the truck became stuck in traffic on Miramar Parkway near Flamingo Road around 5.30pm.

Motorists and bystanders watched as police officers frantically scrambled to stop the suspects.

Police were then seen approaching the truck and opening fire into the vehicle, reports WPLG.

Footage from the scene show shots being fired, and a man's leg becomes visible in the truck's passenger side door, followed by another man climbing over him who covers his head for protection from the spray of bullets.

Debris is seen on the ground near where authorities are investigating the scene of the shootout following a 23-mile chase

Dozens of cops arrived as blood could be seen covering the roadway and at least one person was airlifted to an area hospital after the violence ended.

The follow-up investigation includes support from the FBI.

Hours after the chase ended, medical gauze, wrappers and other debris remained strewn across the Miramar roadway's middle lane, next to the truck which still had its right rear door open.

Traffic remained snarled, and it was not clear how long it would take investigators to clear the scene.

UPS spokesman David Graves said they are staying in touch with authorities. He didn't share any information about the driver, Ordonez.