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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Miami Police Shoot|and Kill a Cannibal

MIAMI (CN) - A naked man eating another man's face "growled like a wild animal" before he was shot dead by Miami police, a police officer said, telling Courthouse News, "I think this is the craziest thing anyone's ever heard of."

The dead man, possibly in the throes of a drug-induced psychosis, allegedly ignored the officers demand to stop eating the other man.

The victim, a homeless man who also was naked, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, with up to 80 percent of his face missing, including his nose and eyeballs, local media reported.

A police officer who did not want to be named called it "the craziest thing anyone's ever heard of," speaking to a Courthouse News reporter on Monday of the bizarre incident that took place 13 blocks north of the Miami-Dade County Courthouse.

Witnesses alerted police to two naked men fighting on the Downtown Miami exit of the MacArthur Causeway, the main bridge connecting Miami Beach to the Miami mainland, just after 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

"What that fight was all about, we have no idea at this point," Miami Police Det. Willie Moreno told WPLG Channel 10 news.

Within 24 hours, the fight and its aftermath had made headlines around the world.

A surveillance camera at the nearby Miami Herald newspaper caught portions of the savage debacle that backed up westbound traffic for hours on the busy holiday weekend.

In this video, a lone officer is seen arriving, and moments later, two motionless naked pairs of legs jut out from behind part of a bridge that obscures the top half of the bodies.

Fraternal Order of Police President Armando Aguilar told reporters that when the officer arrived, he asked the cannibal to back away from the victim, but "he growled like a wild animal and kept eating at the man's face."

Witnesses corroborate this story.

Larry Vega, who was riding his bicycle past the incident, told WSVN Channel 7 news, "He was ripping into his face with his teeth. He was ripping his skin, his neck. He had him held down, the guy couldn't move really, and he was tearing into his flesh."

The officer fired once at the deranged man, but according to news reports this had no effect on the ravenous attacker, forcing the officer to fire multiple rounds, killing him.

Aguilar told reporters, "Based on the information provided, our Miami police officer is a hero and saved a life."

Aguilar claims drugs are probably the cause the gruesome behavior.

The attacker was identified on Monday night as Rudy Eugene, 31, of North Miami Beach. Police are not releasing the victim's identity or condition until they can contact his next of kin.

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