April 11: On This Day in World History … briefly
At 8.45am on Friday, April 11, 1986, a team of FBI agents led by Special Agent Gordon McNeill assembled at a Home Depot to initiate a rolling stakeout searching for the black Monte Carlo (Collazo's stolen car). The agents did not know the identity of the suspects at the time, but were acting on a hunch that the pair would attempt a robbery that morning.
1986: FBI Miami shootout results in popular .40 S&W cartridge being developed
The gun battle that occurred on April 11, 1986, (known as the 1986 FBI Miami shootout) in a formerly unincorporated region of Miami-Dade County in South Florida (incorporated as Pinecrest in 1996) ensued between eight FBI agents and two serial bank robbers and murderers.
During the firefight, FBI Special Agents Jerry L Dove and Benjamin P Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. The two robbery suspects, William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt, were also killed.
The incident is infamous in FBI history and is well-studied in law enforcement circles. Despite outnumbering the suspects four to one, agents found themselves pinned down by suppressive rifle fire and unable to respond effectively. Although both Matix and Platt were hit multiple times during the shootout, Platt fought on and continued to wound and kill agents. This incident led to the introduction of more effective handguns in the FBI and many police departments around the United States.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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