TAMPA — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) conducted a press conference on Monday afternoon to provide an update on the self-inflicted shooting of Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez.
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass confirmed that Ramirez had sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and reassured that no one else was harmed during the incident. He requested patience as they proceed with the investigation. Ramirez is currently in critical, but stable condition.
The 52-year-old police director suffered critical injuries after shooting himself on Sunday during what appears to be a suicide attempt. This occurred after he traveled to Tampa to attend a law enforcement conference, as reported by authorities and sources.
According to two law enforcement sources, Ramirez and his wife were in their car when they pulled over by the side of Interstate 75 in Tampa, where the shooting took place.
After the incident, he was rushed to Tampa General Hospital for surgery and remains in critical condition, but he is expected to survive, as per a source familiar with the situation.
The shooting is being investigated jointly by the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The Miami-Dade Police Department released a brief statement on Monday, notifying the public of Ramirez’s critical injury and requesting prayers for his recovery.
According to a senior law enforcement source involved in the investigation, the events leading up to the shooting unfolded as follows:
Ramirez and his wife were attending the Florida Sheriff Association summer meeting at the JW Marriot Hotel in Tampa.
After leaving the welcome reception for the conference around 6:30 p.m., they engaged in an argument outside the hotel, during which a passerby claimed to have witnessed Ramirez threatening to take his own life.
This passerby alerted the Tampa police, who questioned Ramirez and his wife. Both denied the allegations and since the call was anonymous, there were no witnesses willing to corroborate the claim.
As a result, the Tampa police did not arrest Ramirez or involuntarily commit him to a mental health facility under the state’s Baker Act, which is typically done if there is evidence that someone poses a risk to themselves or others.
After being asked to leave the Marriot Hotel, Ramirez and his wife headed back to Miami. However, along the way, Ramirez stopped on the side of I-75 in the Riverview section of Tampa and shot himself in the head. The full extent of his injuries is not publicly known, but there is a possibility that he may lose vision in one eye.
As of now, the motive behind Ramirez’s apparent suicide attempt remains unclear.
Two months prior, Ramirez had announced his intention to run for sheriff next year as a Democrat alongside Miami Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
He had been appointed as police director in 2020 under former Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and was later elevated to the position of interim chief of public safety, overseeing the police department and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, by Levine Cava.
In response to the critical injury of Director Ramirez, both Mayor Levine Cava and the Miramar Police Department expressed their support and well wishes for his recovery. MDPD Deputy Director Stephanie Daniels has been named interim police director during Ramirez’s absence.
