A robbery of a jewelry store in South Florida sparked a hot pursuit after the thieves hijacked a UPS delivery truck with a driver inside. The chase, aired live on TV, ended in a shootout that claimed two innocent lives.

The incident began unfolding at about 4 p.m. after police in Coral Gables responded to a silent alarm apparently set off by an employee of a jewelry store.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

Just saw this live!! Police in Miramar, Florida opened fire while pursuing armed robbers who stole a UPS truck & were holding the driver hostage. During the shootout the driver fell out of the truck & appeared to be injured. They then cut the live feed pic.twitter.com/XhnKQjjDwx — Natasha Del Riego (@natashaaa__) December 5, 2019

So the the robbery that turned to a high-speed chase that turned to a shootout on Miramar Pkwy ended up with the robber dead and the UPS driver that was hostage.. thats crazy how fast this escalated pic.twitter.com/JHNK3XHh7P — 🐙 (@deewithdaglizzy) December 5, 2019

Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak said that the robbers were first confronted by the owner of the store, who apparently returned fire. A stray bullet pierced the wall of the local city hall, located just across the street from Regent Jewelers.

While it took a mere 90 seconds for officers to arrive at the scene, the thugs did not waste any time either, hijacking a UPS delivery truck and taking its driver hostage. An ensuing car chase spanning two counties saw the UPS truck running red lights and wreaking havoc at busy intersections before it ultimately came to a rush-hour showdown in the city of Miramar, about 20 miles north of Miami.

Miami Dade County police officers open fire against two robbery suspects inside a UPS truck. Four people were killed: the two robbers, a UPS driver who was taken hostage and a bystander. pic.twitter.com/aqZM4xgi6T — Santi bel (@santibel9) December 6, 2019

The dramatic car chase, including the moment police officers, taking cover behind nearby cars, opened fire on the suspects were broadcast live on local TV, with the thieves shooting back from the stolen truck with the hostage still inside.



Getting into a shootout on a crowded highway that ends with a dead UPS driver. Miramar police using pedestrian vehicles as cover from gunfire. All over stolen jewelry. Ridiculous. https://t.co/0HpRLURApe — sensitive kev (@kobthatreal) December 5, 2019

My friend sent me this 🤯 pic.twitter.com/E5SjLOSbyY — Kevin Reinoso♛ (@kevinreinosoo) December 6, 2019

While no law enforcement officers were injured in the raid, the two armed robbery suspects and two civilians, including a UPS truck driver, were killed in the shootout, police confirmed.

The tactics the police used to deal with the incident have courted widespread controversy online, with some netizens calling out the officers for prioritizing the immediate capture of the criminals over the lives and safety of innocent people.

Cops just unloaded on an innocent UPS driver that was hostage in an armed robbery. You can watch the video for yourself pretty graphic. This happened in Miami. pic.twitter.com/OB3W35D3Dz — Kluebtorious (@rklueber28) December 5, 2019

Oh shut up. You endangered multiple innocent bystanders and cilivians by hiding behind/using their moving cars as shields in a shootout. Not to mention you killed an innocent UPS driver that was being held hostaged trying to escape the gunfire 🤷🏽 — Indigo Season👽💜🌌🎶🎶⚛🎈 (@Shorty2222) December 6, 2019

Yeah, just injured innocents because of piss-poor tactics. Pathetic.#ToServeAndPROTECT — Nunya Bidness (@twyttrsuksballs) December 6, 2019

They killed the UPS driver & the suspect, in that situation how do you defuse the situation if the suspect has been firing at the officers, curious to hear y’all thoughts if it could’ve been handled differently❓ — Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) December 5, 2019

Two other people were injured as a result of a motor crash, reportedly caused by the UPS truck’s erratic driving, but both refused to go to the hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the UPS expressed gratitude to law enforcement, vowing to cooperate with an investigation into the robbery-gone-wrong.

“We appreciate law enforcement’s service and will cooperate with them to bring the individuals to justice who put our people in harm’s way,” the company said.

The FBI land office in Miami has taken the lead in the investigation.

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