3 Children Arrested After Crashing Into Miami-Dade School

HOMESTEAD, FL — Three children ages 12 to 14 were arrested along with an adult after they allegedly snatched purses from a 94-year-old woman and a 60-year-old woman. They then led police on a wild chase before crashing a Hyundai Sonata into Miami MacArthur South Senior High School and a police car. The incident caused the school to be placed on a lockdown.

Police detained a fifth person for a time but that person was later released without charges, according to Detective Daniel Ferrin of the Miami-Dade Police Department, who said that no one was injured in Monday's incident, which occurred around 10 a.m.

Patch is withholding the names of the children who were arrested based on their age. They were each charged with strongarm robbery.

The adult driver of the vehicle was identified as 27-year-old Charles Flowers Jr. of the 19701 SW 114 Court. Flowers was charged with grand theft vehicle, driving with a suspended license and fleeing or eluding a police officer.

"After a brief pursuit, the subject vehicle crashed into the structure of Miami MacArthur South School," according to Ferrin. "The subject then placed the vehicle in reverse, striking the marked police vehicle. They then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot onto the school ground."

Ferrin said that Miami-Dade police apprehended the suspects with assistance from Miami-Dade Schools Police.

He said the 60-year-old victim had her purse snatched from her arm by a group of suspects while she was sitting at a bus stop on SW 200 Street and U.S. Route 1. The suspect fled in the Sonata.

"Moments later, a sudden purse snatch to a white elderly female had occurred at the parking lot of 20505 South Dixie Highway," he said of the 94-year-old woman. "The victim sustained minor lacerations and abrasions and was not transported to a medical facility."

Police spotted the Sonata and attempted to stop it in a nearby area but the driver refused to stop, according to Ferrin.

Photo of Charles Flowers, Jr. courtesy of Miami-Dade Police Department