Doral Academy teacher Maria Cruz killed in murder-suicide – NBC 6 South Florida
Police are investigating a murder-suicide that left a Doral school teacher dead and a third person injured at a home in southwest Miami-Dade.
At the scene, Miami-Dade Police found a man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and another man and woman with gunshot wounds. Another woman was found at the scene but was not injured.
Units responded to the home on the 9900 block of SW 165th Terrace at around 4:20 p.m. on Friday and transported the injured man and woman to Jackson South Medical Center in critical condition.
The injured woman — identified by authorities as Maria Cruz, a math teacher at Doral Academy — later died of her injuries.
“It is with a heavy heart that we inform you of the loss of our cherished Ms. Maria Cruz,” said Doral Academy Principal Eleonora Cuesta in a statement. “Her compassion, commitment, and love for her students have left an indelible mark on us all. In these difficult times, our thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with her daughters.”
Cuesta also said the school is committed to providing the necessary support to students by arranging for additional on-site counselors to assist students as they navigate through their grief.
“May the memory of our beloved Maria Cruz be a blessing,” said Cuesta.
Detective Angel Rodriguez said MDPD is “not actively searching for any subjects as this incident is a murder/suicide.”
On Saturday, people in the Palmetto Estates neighborhood were still trying to process the tragedy.
“We didn’t know what to expect because they were coming out of their cars with their guns drawn,” one woman said. “We were pretty nervous and scared not knowing who was really living in our neighborhood.”
A woman who didn’t want to be identified lives a few doors down from where the shooting happened. She says the people inside the home are new to the neighborhood and she doesn’t know much about them.
“You don’t know what the neighbors are capable of, it could have happened outside and someone could have gotten hurt innocently,” she said. “I just hope that nothing like this ever happens again.”
What led up to the shooting remains unclear, but detectives are seeking any information regarding domestic violence history.
Raidel Munoz lives several homes down from where the shooting happened.
“This area being blocked off is quite a surprise, to say the least,” Munoz said.
Munoz is like many of his neighbors who came outside and saw police and crime scene tape.
“Noticed a bunch of ambulances coming by, firefighters, helicopter, then I came outside to see what was going on,” Munoz said. “Quite very concerning, I never expected something like this so close to my home.”
One neighbor told NBC6 he heard the gunshots from his home and ran over to see what happened. Moments later, he called 911.
Further information was not available. Check back with NBC6 for updates.
