nbc6.net
ATF Agents Burst Into Wrong House
Mother, Toddler Inside Home When Officers Enter
POSTED: 9:15 am EDT April 10, 2008
UPDATED: 10:19 pm EDT April 10, 2008
MIAMI --
Officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives barged into a South Florida home Wednesday only to discover they had the wrong address.
The ATF agents were supposed to conduct a raid at a home in the 2600 block of Northwest 49th Terrace in northwest Miami-Dade County, but they were off by one block. They entered a house on Northwest 49th Street instead.
Philomaine Silvain and her 3-year-old son were among the innocent people inside the home when the agents came in.
Silvain pointed out damage to her front door.
"The door's right here," Silvain said. "There's a hole right here. It's broken."
Her back window was also broken from where federal agents fired canisters into the apartment at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The agents left the tear gas cans in the house, and Silvain kicked them out and into the street before dumping them into the garbage.
No one from the ATF would speak to NBC 6 on camera, but a representative said over the phone that it was an innocent mistake, agents apologized on the scene and ATF would repair any damages.
Silvain's door has already been fixed. However, she said she plans on speaking with a lawyer.
The officers did arrest the man they actually were looking for one street away.
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This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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