Miami police on Sunday searched
for
a motive for a shooting
rampage
in which six people were killed by a gunman
who
set his apartment on fire before
shooting
several neighbors and taking others hostage.
They
said they were investigating reports that the man,
Pedro
Alberto Vargas, 42, was in the process of being evicted
and
had had disputes with the building's management.
More
than 100 police, including SWAT teams,
stormed
an apartment in Hialeah, a heavily-Hispanic suburb of Miami,
in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, killing Vargas
and rescuing
two hostages.
two hostages.
"When
we found him he still had plenty of live rounds of ammunition,"
Hialeah
Police spokesman Carl Zogby told reporters.
"This
was an irrational act and many times there is no
rational explanation."
rational explanation."
The
weapon used in the incident, a 9-millimeter Glock handgun,
was
purchased legally in 2010, Zogby said.
Vargas,
who arrived
in the United States from Cuba
in 1997,
was described as a part-time graphic artist
who
kept largely to himself and cared for his elderly mother.
He became a U.S. citizen in 2004, according to
El Nuevo Herald,
south Florida's main Spanish-language
newspaper.
He
graduated from Miami Dade College
with a degree in graphic design.
There were no pending civil or criminal cases
filed
against him in Miami-Dade County courts.
Among
the victims
were
two building managers and several neighbors,
including
a 17-year-old girl who police say
was
shot while trying to hide in a bathtub.
Vargas also
fired 10 to 20 shots into the street,
killing a man
who was walking home
with his
9-year-old son whom he had just
picked up from
boxing practice, police said.
It was the worst
Miami area shooting since 1982,when
51-year-old Carl
Robert Brown killed nine and wounded three others
with a
pump-action shotgun after a dispute over a
$20 lawnmower repair.
$20 lawnmower repair.
Vargas
held a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Police gave no information on where
he bought the gun or details from the two-page
questionnaire
on the permit's application.
He had no
military background
and there were no reports
of
any psychiatric issues.
According to El Nuevo Herald neighbors knew
little
of the man other than that he exercised often
and
was regularly seen wearing gym shorts and running shoes.
Neighbors say
he regularly
took his 83-year-old mother
to doctor's
appointments.
The
shooting started
after Vargas set fire to his apartment
as well as a large amount of cash.
Vargas' mother
told police it was $10,000
drawn from his
savings account,
though the
amount remains unconfirmed.
"Much
if not all was burned," Zogby said.
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