Man Arrested After Gunfire Erupts at Miami International Airport
A 31-year-old man was arrested after allegedly firing four rounds toward an occupied terminal at Miami International Airport, prompting a major police response and temporarily shutting down part of the departures area.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to reports of a possible active shooter shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Authorities identified the suspect as Francisco Ivan Mendiola, who was taken into custody without further incident. No passengers, airport employees or law enforcement officers were injured.
Investigators said Mendiola was sitting on a bench on the second floor of the airport’s Flamingo short-term parking garage when a deputy saw him load a magazine into a firearm and begin shooting toward the terminal.
An arrest affidavit said Mendiola fired four rounds. Three bullets reportedly struck a metal trash can, while a fourth hit the windshield of an unoccupied vehicle parked nearby.
Deputies located Mendiola inside the garage and recovered a firearm from a backpack in his possession, according to authorities.
The incident unfolded near Door 13 on the departures level, sending frightened travelers searching for cover as deputies carrying rifles and wearing tactical equipment moved into the area.
Kayla Paige Bryson said she was waiting for an Uber with her brother and two young sons when she heard three gunshots and saw a man near the parking-garage walkway.
Bryson’s brother immediately instructed her and the children to get down. The family sought protection behind a law enforcement vehicle while deputies responded.
“We all got behind a cop car. It seemed like forever,” Bryson wrote on Facebook. “We just prayed, but the cops got him.”
Footage recorded at the airport showed a heavy law enforcement presence and deputies escorting a handcuffed man toward a patrol vehicle.
Authorities initially treated the reports as a potential active-shooter situation because the rounds were fired in the direction of an occupied terminal. Investigators later determined the shooting was an isolated incident and announced that no continuing threat existed.
The departure-level roadway and the terminal area between doors 12 and 17 remained closed for approximately two hours while investigators searched the scene and collected evidence.
Airport officials diverted vehicle traffic to the arrivals level during the closure, creating delays for passengers being dropped off or picked up.
The departures roadway fully reopened shortly before 6 p.m. Passengers were once again allowed through the previously restricted portion of the terminal, although several deputies and patrol vehicles remained at the airport.
Miami International Airport later announced that normal operations had resumed and confirmed that all passengers and employees were safe. The incident caused only limited flight delays.
Mendiola was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
He faces one felony count of shooting or throwing a deadly missile, one misdemeanor count of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place and two misdemeanor criminal-mischief counts, according to court records.
The arrest affidavit said Mendiola appeared intoxicated and behaved aggressively after being detained. Investigators said his condition prevented them from immediately conducting a formal interview, per Trending Politics.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Detective Joseph Peguero Rivera reminded travelers that deputies remain stationed throughout the airport and encouraged passengers to immediately report suspicious behavior.
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