Pedro Alberto Vargas

Overview

Pedro Alberto Vargas carried out a shooting rampage at an apartment complex in Hialeah, a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Seven people, including the shooter, were killed in the incident. Vargas was identified as a 42-year-old resident of Hialeah and was fatally shot by a SWAT team after a shootout following a standoff in which he held two people hostage.

Timeline

• 26 July 2013 — Vargas set fire to his apartment, shot multiple people at the apartment complex, and later took two people hostage.
• 27 July 2013 — A SWAT team entered during the standoff, fatally shot Vargas after a brief shootout, and rescued the hostages.

Background

Vargas resided in the apartment complex with his mother. Neighbors described him as quiet and said he commonly got into arguments with his mother in their apartment. Some accounts described him as antisocial and focused on his physique, including gym use and weightlifting.

Vargas immigrated to the United States in 1997 and was naturalized in 2004. According to records described in multiple reports, he had committed no serious criminal offenses.

The offence

Vargas poured combustible liquid on cash and set it on fire in his fourth-floor apartment. He then shot from within the apartment complex and from his balcony.

Vargas stepped into the hallway and shot and killed building manager Italo Pisciotii and his wife Camira Pisciotii with a Glock 17 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Vargas then went to his balcony on the fourth floor and fired 10 to 20 bullets into the street, fatally hitting Carlos Javier Gavilanes as he exited his car.

Vargas kicked open the door of apartment 304 and shot and killed Patricio Simono, his wife Merly S. Niebels, and their 17-year-old daughter Priscilla Perez. Priscilla Perez was reportedly shot while she was hiding inside a bathtub.

Police officers responded and exchanged gunfire with Vargas throughout the complex. Vargas entered another apartment on the fifth floor, where he took two people hostage for about three hours. After negotiations reportedly broke down, a SWAT team entered the building, fatally shot Vargas after a brief shootout, and the two hostages escaped unharmed.

Victims

• Italo Pisciotii, 79 (building manager; killed in a hallway)
• Camira Pisciotii, 69 (wife of Italo Pisciotii; killed in a hallway)
• Carlos Javier Gavilanes, 33 (killed on the street)
• Patricio Simono, 64 (killed in apartment 304)
• Merly S. Niebels, 51 (wife of Patricio Simono; killed in apartment 304)
• Priscilla Perez, 17 (daughter of Patricio Simono and Merly Niebels; killed in apartment 304)

Investigation

Police investigated possible motives. Police said they did not have a clear motive and described the act as irrational with no rational explanation. Police also investigated reports that Vargas was in the process of being evicted and had prior disputes with the managers of the building.

Investigators reported that Vargas set fire to his apartment and also set fire to a large amount of cash. One account described Vargas’ mother as having told police that Vargas withdrew $10,000 from his savings account, while Reuters described the amount as unconfirmed and said more than $90,000 had been in a bank account according to records found in the apartment.

Hialeah police spokesman Carl Zogby stated: “He possibly took his motives to the grave.”

During the standoff, police negotiated for about four hours before the SWAT team entered and killed Vargas during a gunfight.

Gun and ammunition

Vargas held a concealed weapons permit and owned a Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol. The Glock 9mm pistol used in the shooting was legally purchased by Vargas.

A report said the weapon used was a 9-millimeter Glock handgun purchased legally in 2010. Another report said Vargas purchased a Glock 17, a box of 50 rounds, and a background check for $593.49 in October 2010, and that he did not return afterward for target practice. Police found hundreds of additional rounds in Vargas’ possession and in his apartment after the shooting, and it was described as unclear where those rounds were obtained.

In one account of the standoff, police said Vargas still had plenty of live rounds of ammunition when officers found him and that he was trying to reload his pistol with two full magazines of ammunition.

Arrest / SWAT action

A SWAT team entered the building during the hostage standoff. Vargas was fatally shot by the SWAT team after a brief shootout.

Aftermath

Mayor Carlos Hernandez responded to the incident with: “I'm torn apart. We've never had something so complex as we had last night.... It's an extremely sad day in Hialeah.”

Sandy Hook Promise issued a statement on the shooting that included: “Our hearts are broken. Our spirit is not. Sending prayers and condolences to the victims and families of the Hialeah, Florida mass shooting. Another tragedy that invites us all to reflect on what individual and collective changes we can make as a nation to save lives. Together we can.”

Other details

Vargas called 911 at 1:37 p.m. on 26 July 2013 and reported that he was being followed and that “sorcery” was being done to him, beginning with a lawyer.

During the 911 call, Vargas said he was at 1485 W. 46 Street, Apt. 408. Vargas stated: “I feel threatened and I am being a victim of, of...” and later said: “Not only that. They are trying to put some sorcery on me.” Vargas also said: “It started with a lawyer” and “Castillo.”

Esperanza Patterson, identified as Vargas’ mother during the call, said she was “an 89-year-old person” and asked for treatment evaluation, stating: “He would like him to be treated by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, to be evaluated, to see, because he has never been like this, I don’t know.” Patterson also said: “I crushed two Xanax pills” to try to calm him.

Patterson stated Vargas was born in 1970 and said he was 43 years old during the call. Vargas stated his date of birth as “October 3, 1970.” Patterson said Vargas left with a container to buy gasoline and told the operator: “He grabbed a bottle and told me was going to get some gasoline.” Patterson said she believed Vargas was “looking for oil.”

The 911 call included the following verbatim exchanges:

• “Operator: OK, let me have your address. Vargas: What? Operator: Let me have your address. Vargas: Could you run a ... a ... a license plate?”
• “Vargas: Not only that. They are trying to put some sorcery on me.”
• “Vargas: It started with a lawyer”
• “Vargas: Yes, Castillo. Beginning there they are doing sorcery on me.”
• “Esperanza Patterson: Hello? Operator: Hello, ma’am.”
• “Esperanza Patterson: I don’t know why, but he is very agitated and I really don’t see those things.”
• “Operator: Does he have mental problems?”
• “Esperanza Patterson: Well, now. But, but…”
• “Esperanza Patterson: Yes… He, ah... A short while ago, I don’t know why he had to go.”
• “Esperanza Patterson: Patterson: Now he does, right now he’s like that, and I want you to know, Miss, that I gave her — sorry, him — at lunch.... I crushed two Xanax pills (inaudible) to see if he would calm down a little.”
• “Esperanza Patterson: In case they notice something on him. It’s not any drugs.”
• “Esperanza Patterson: He took a container.”
• “Operator: What color? Patterson: White.”
• “Operator: What is your date of birth? Vargas: October 3, 1970, let me see... let me get my notebook... wait a moment...”

Vargas used steroids and was described as frustrated with experiences with women. Neighbors and associates gave accounts that differed regarding his personal relationships.

One report described Post-it notes found in Vargas’ apartment and included the verbatim text:

• “Louie’s home”
• “Very Spartan. Louie f--- the whore ... Louie ask her to stay she refuses unless he pays for the rest of the night. Louie insults her.”

Reports described Vargas as having downloaded inappropriate computer files while employed at Miami Dade College, including links to materials related to explosions and hacking, as well as materials described as sexual. Vargas disputed the allegations and wrote: “This letter is to make clear that I don't have anything to do with those false allegations,” adding that they were intended “to smear my good name and reputation.” Another quoted statement attributed to Vargas included: “I do not have any desire to work under such intoxicating enviro[n]ment that has been created in the department.”