{"id":409314,"date":"2026-09-24T14:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/409314\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T14:44:12","slug":"miami-airport-shooting-what-to-know-about-shooter-video-damage-nbc-6-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/409314\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami airport shooting: what to know about shooter, video, damage \u2013 NBC 6 South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man was arrested after he fired gunshots near a terminal at Miami International Airport<\/a>, triggering a massive law enforcement response Wednesday evening, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Here’s what to know. <\/p>\n

When and where did the shooting happen?<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office officials said deputies responded to reports of an active shooter at the airport just after 4 p.m. <\/p>\n

When deputies got to the scene, they saw the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Francisco Ivan Mendiola, sitting on the second floor of the short-term parking garage. Then they watched him load a magazine into a firearm and fire one shot, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Deputies took Mendiola into custody as he sat on a bench at the parking garage, according to an arrest report. <\/p>\n

According to detectives, he fired four rounds. Three rounds were shot toward the occupied airport terminal, striking a metal trash can. A fourth round hit an unoccupied vehicle.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Authorities<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tVictoria De Cardenas\/NBC6Victoria De Cardenas\/NBC6<\/p>\n

Authorities outside Miami International Airport on Sept. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

Was anyone hurt?<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade Aviation Department officials said all passengers and employees were safe and there were no reported injuries.<\/p>\n

Multiple witnesses reported hearing the gunshots.<\/p>\n

“I go downstairs to the first level, and I just hear this big ‘boom,'” one woman said. “And I don’t think anything of it because I freakin’ live in America, but then I see this guy dive behind this car.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Miami-Dade<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tNBC6NBC6<\/p>\n

Miami-Dade deputies respond to Miami International Airport on Sept. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

What do we know about the suspect and the weapon used?<\/p>\n

Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Francisco Ivan Mendiola. <\/p>\n

A motive for the shooting was not immediately known. Detectives said they could not interview Mendiola after his arrest because he was “intoxicated and acting in an aggressive manner.”<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

31-year-old Francisco Ivan Mendiola<\/p>\n

According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect had a backpack in his possession, and inside deputies found a firearm with two 16-round capacity magazines with 12 rounds in each.<\/p>\n

Mendiola faces charges of shooting a deadly missile, discharging a firearm in a public place, and criminal mischief.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tRodolfo ValleRodolfo Valle<\/p>\n

A man is taken into custody outside Miami International Airport on Sept. 23, 2026.<\/p>\n

According to previous arrest reports, Mendiola, who is homeless, had stolen alcohol at least three times in June from a Fresco y Mas supermarket and liquor store near the airport, on Northwest 7th Street and 37th Avenue.<\/p>\n

He was booked for petty theft in those incidents. <\/p>\n

What does video show?<\/p>\n

Cell phone video from a witness showed a bearded man in handcuffs being escorted by deputies outside the airport.<\/p>\n

Cell phone footage from another witness showed deputies, including some in tactical gear and carrying rifles, outside the airport, closing off some areas with yellow crime scene tape.<\/p>\n

Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed terminal roadways closed off as dozens of sheriff’s office vehicles responded.<\/p>\n

In the arrest report, authorities said the suspect was seen on CCTV footage walking from the Flamingo Garage into the short-term parking garage, where he was “the only person in the immediate area.”<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPolice officers were seen swarming a parking garage at Miami International Airport after reports of shots fired Wednesday.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Is the airport open? How were operations affected?<\/p>\n

The shooting led to the closure of the departure level from doors 12 to 17 and the departure level roadway outer lanes, while vehicle traffic was also diverted to the arrivals level, airport officials added.<\/p>\n

The departure level and roadway lanes later reopened and airport operations returned to normal, officials said.<\/p>\n

The sheriff’s office said there is no ongoing threat to the community.<\/p>\n

Thank you to @MiamiDade_SO for their immediate response and for keeping everyone at @iflymia safe today, and to our airport team for keeping travelers informed and working hard to get everyone moving again.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) September 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man was arrested after he fired gunshots near a terminal at Miami International Airport, triggering a massive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,1063,124,373],"class_list":["post-409314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-international-airport","tag-miami-news","tag-miami-dade-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}