Hialeah schools were briefly on lockdown Wednesday morningwhile police searched for an “irrational” mixed martial arts fighter wielding a knife.
Hialeah police said John Chavez, a 30-year-old MMA fighter with tattoos up to his neck, ran from police earlier in the morning after a “violent domestic dispute.”
Hialeah police spokesman Lt. Carl Zogby said police got the call around 8:15 a.m., but Chavez was “acting irrationally” and ran off with a kitchen knife when cops arrived.
Zogby said Chavez, who is six-foot two-inches and 220 pounds, has a history of mental illness, violence and encounters with police. Chavez left his home Tuesday evening after police were called, and returned Wednesday morning, Zogby said.
Ben Sheppard Elementary and Jose Marti Mast Academy Middle School were on lockdown between for an hour Wednesday morning while police searched the area from West 20th to 24th avenues and 52nd to 56th streets.
Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade schools superintendent, tweeted that children and staff at the schools are safe and the lockdowns were lifted.
Lockdowns at all three schools lifted. Children and staff are safe. Regular school day continues. https://t.co/ikeofnGtLX
— Alberto M. Carvalho (@MiamiSup) March 22, 2017
Read more here at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
