A tactical team with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office shot and killed a man Tuesday morning while serving a search warrant in a Southwest Miami-Dade neighborhood as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse and pornography.
Crime scene investigators blocked off the area near SW 102nd Place and Fairway Heights Boulevard around 5:30 a.m. after deputies announced their presence over loudspeakers and approached the home.
Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said the warrant was connected to an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) case that had been under investigation for more than a year.
“In this particular case, an over one-year investigation where the victims of child pornography and sexual abuse range from the ages of infancy to six years of age,” Cordero-Stutz said.
Deputies confronted by armed man
Deputies initially made contact with two adults and a child inside the home and removed them safely. Moments later, a man armed with a weapon confronted deputies at the door.
“Our deputies fired their service weapon,” Cordero-Stutz said. The man died at the scene.
Neighbors described hearing gunfire.
“I just heard some pop pops and my dog started barking,” one neighbor said. “Then they had it blocked off.”
Another person taken into custody
After the shooting, deputies removed another person from the home, who is now in custody. No investigators were hurt.
“The work that we do is extremely dangerous,” Cordero-Stutz said. “We come as prepared as we can, but we don’t have a crystal ball.”
Family identifies man killed
Family members identified the man killed as 21-year-old Christopher Barata, a TSA agent at Miami International Airport. His brother, Christian Barata, also a TSA agent, was taken into custody.
One woman, Zaida, arrived at the scene in tears, carrying a 3-year-old boy. She said her son called her to rush over and that her stepson was the one killed.
The investigation into the child exploitation case remains active.
