MIAMI MOURNS SLAIN COPS AT HANDS OF 'EVIL' KILLER

A hero

Brain surgeon

Miami is awash in blue tears today after two members of an elite police unit were murdered by an accused "evil" killer who also died in the shootout. Officers Roger Castillo and Amanda Haworth were in the process of serving a warrant to Johnny Simms, 23, when the thug opened fire. Another officer was wounded and is expected to make a full recovery.

"It's shocking. It's hurtful," said an emotional Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, adding that he knew both slain officers personally, having once been the police department's director. "Really, I can't put it into words."

The cops had been searching for a man involved in an earlier slaying. A family member said the suspect "would be right back", according to CNN. Minutes later gunfire erupted with Castillo--a father of three dying at the scene. Haworth--a 23-year-veteran died on the operating table.




Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz of the Miami-Dade Police Department told CNN that the deaths hit her department hard.

"This is part of what police officers face every day," she said. "That's not just here in Miami-Dade County, that is across the country. We're people, too."

The Miami officers often coordinate activities with the U.S. Marshals Service.

"This is a very volatile area," Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden told CNN affiliate WBFS. "There are a lot of shootings in this area. Now you realize how dangerous this job can be -- tracking down fugitives, subjects who know they're wanted, who are always armed."

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