A mother identified the men involved in a deadly confrontation with Miami-Dade deputies as they were attempting to serve a search warrant in a child porn investigation on Tuesday.
Judy Rodriguez told NBC6 that her son, 21-year-old Christopher Barata, was killed, and her other son, 25-year-old Cristian Barata, was the person taken into custody.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said deputies arrived at the house on Southwest 155th Street and Southwest 102nd Court in Palmetto Estates around 5:30 a.m. to serve the warrant in the Internet Crimes Against Children investigation.
They had been investigating allegations of child pornography and sexual abuse involving victims who “ranged from the ages of infancy to 6 years of age” for over a year, the sheriff said.
Ring video shows how several agents with the Special Response Team arrived, wearing tactical gear and banging on a side door with a hammer-like tool.
Authorities said that when they arrived, they made contact with two adults and a child at the door, and the three of them were safely removed from the property.
Judy Rodriguez
Judy Rodriguez
21-year-old Christopher Barata (left) was killed as authorities were serving a search warrant related to his brother, 25-year-old Cristian Barata (right), who was arrested on charges of child pornography.
A short time later, an armed person came to the door and “confronted” authorities, the sheriff said. Cordero-Stutz said that subject “failed to obey the orders to drop the weapon,” and deputies opened fire. They rendered aid at the scene, but the subject did not survive.
Later, Rodriguez could be seen crying at the scene of the shooting.
“They killed my son… they should’ve done things differently,” she said through sobs in Spanish. “They can say what they want, but in my house, there aren’t any guns. I don’t believe it’s true. They’ll have to show me.”
When asked if deputies were the first to shoot and whether the suspect opened fire, Cordero-Stutz said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be investigating those details, as is standard in law enforcement shootings.
Miami-Dade Department of Corrections
Miami-Dade Department of Corrections
Cristian Barata, 25
No deputies were hurt in the shooting.
A second subject, Cristian Barata, was removed from the home and arrested. He is the one referred to in the search warrant, Cordero-Stutz said.
“My other son they took… I don’t know anything about [the child pornography investigation] and I don’t believe it. He’s a good boy, who worked at the airport with TSA like his brother,” Barata’s mother said.
Jail records show that Barata is facing 15 counts of possessing images of sexual performance by a child and 10 counts of attempting or promoting sexual performance by a child.
An arrest report said the investigation into Barata began in October of 2024 after an electronic service provider reported a user was uploading videos containing child sexual abuse material.
The user was identified as Barata, the report said.
“The warrant for ICAC that was served included trading in this type of pornography and sexual abuse as well as watching,” Cordero-Stutz said. “We will continue to deep dive and ensure that any and all victims that we can identify and provide certain services to, that we will do that.”
Rodriguez said she had more questions than answers about what happened Tuesday, but that “in a moment, they’ve destroyed my life.” She also promised to take legal action available to her.
In a statement on Wednesday, TSA said: “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no tolerance for criminal behavior or misconduct on- or off-duty. The TSA employee involved has had his access to all secure areas of the airport immediately revoked and has been removed from all duties, pending the outcome of the case. TSA is fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.”