OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade corrections officer has been arrested after, police said, he shot the mother of his child in Opa-locka during a domestic altercation.
Officer David Mercado appeared briefly in bond court, Tuesday morning. He stands accused of opening fire on Wendi Vazquez in a jealous rage.
“She told them that she was shot by the father of her baby,” said Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Renatha Francis as she read over the arrest report.
According to investigators, Mercado came to Vazquez’s home along Sultan Avenue, just off 151st Street, Monday night.
Investigators said the victim was in bed with another man when Mercado banged on her bedroom window and began hurling insults.
When asked by Francis whether he had lived with Vazquez, Mercado replied, “We have relations.”
The arrest report states that Mercado, who was off duty and in uniform, came in through the front door, pulled out his gun and fired at the man. However, the bullet hit Vazquez in the chest.
The other man then grabbed his own gun and shot back. The arrest report said the other man told detectives Mercado fled as if he was injured.
As Vazquez fell on her bed, the other man chased after Mercado and exchanged gunfire with him at the front door.
Doris Chavarrio, the victim’s mother, spoke to 7News through a translator
“I feel sad, really bad, because that man came to this house and almost killed my daughter,” she said.
The arrest report states Mercado drove himself to Palmetto General Hospital and called his job saying he had been injured by flying debris that he’d run over.
Police responded to he hospital where Mercado was treated for a minor chest wound. Mercado claimed the other man shot first and denied shooting Vazquez.
But after recovering bullet casings at the home and interviewing Vazquez, police took Mercado into custody. He has been charged with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated battery.
The victim’s mother said Mercado is married.
“He has a wife. He has kids,” she said.
Chavarrio said the bullet barely missed her daughter’s heart, damaging her lungs. Nurses said Vazquez is not out of the woods yet.
“I have no words,” said Chavarrio.
While she continues to pray for her daughter’s recovery, there is one thing she is demanding.
“The only thing I want is justice,” she said.
Mercado has been instructed to stay away from Vazquez while he awaits trial.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.