Miami Beach Victims Identified in Double Shooting

MIAMI BEACH — Police identified the two people who were shot along Collins Avenue just before the start of Wednesday's morning commute.

The incident occurred at about 5:45 at 72 and Collins Avenue, according to Miami Beach police.

The victims have been identified as 36-year-old Pedro Villarchao and 32-year-old Valeria Mato.

"Once officers arrived, they located two victims, one Hispanic male with a gun wound to the abdomen and one Hispanic female with a gunshot wound to the hand," Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department told Patch.

He said that the victims were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center of Jackson Memorial Hospital by the Miami Beach Fire Department. They were listed in stable condition as of early Wednesday evening.

The shootings took place near a busy Denny's restaurant on 71 Street.

"It was apparently out in the street," Rodriguez said of the shootings. "There might have been some sort of conversation between the victims and the shooter just before the incident."

The suspect was last seen fleeing north along Collins Avenue, which is one of the main arteries into and out of Miami Beach.

Photo courtesy of Miami Beach Police Department