Gun-wielding dog owner kills armed robber, more updates on Miami’s bloody holiday weekend

Two men walking their French bulldog after a visit to Miami’s Midtown Miami shopping center were confronted in broad daylight by an out-of-town robber with a long rap sheet. All three men, it turns out, were armed.

When the tussle and gunfight stopped Monday evening, the armed robber had been shot 11 times. One of the robbery victims was shot in the shoulder. The third man survived shaken, but unscathed. The manager of the nearby PetSmart agreed to take the French bulldog overnight as police investigated the shooting outside the popular shopping center.

The new details, as provided by law enforcement sources, emerged Tuesday as police across Miami-Dade County grappled with a spate of high-profile shootings over the past week and the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Another shooting on Monday — partially captured on bystander video — happened outside the swank restaurant Prime 112 on South Beach. Two people were injured and police detectives said they were interviewing the famous rapper Da Baby as part of their probe.

And homicide detectives were hunting for the killers involved in two mass shootings over the holiday weekend. Early Sunday morning, two men were killed and a staggering 21 wounded when gunmen outside a Northwest Miami-Dade banquet hall where a local rap label was hosting a concert. On Friday night, seven people were shot, one fatally, outside a rented event space in Wynwood; so far, there is no indication that the two mass shootings are related.

The bloodshed continued Tuesday when a man was found shot to death on the 400 block of Northwest 165th Street. Details of the homicide were not immediately available.

Monday evening’s shooting at Midtown unfolded outside a parking garage on the 3100 block of North Miami Avenue. The two men walking their dog live in the area, and were returning home when they were confronted by Otis Brown, 38, of Leigh Acres, who tried to rob them.

According to a source, Brown and one of the men began grappling. The other man, who was legally armed with a Glock, hid briefly behind a post and heard his friend get shot in the shoulder. He emerged from behind the post and exchanged gunfire with Brown, who was hit 11 times.

The dog ran off, but was later rescued. The robbery victims both had their weapons legally, and are not expected to face charges. Investigators believe they acted in self-defense.