Mother Devastated After Son Fatally Shot During Police Operation in Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County,FL – Yudimi Rodríguez,a Cuban mother,is demanding answers after her 21-year-old son,Christopher Barata,was fatally shot during a police operation at their home on December 2,2025.Rodríguez described discovering her son’s death, stating, “They killed him in the living room, they killed him unjustly.”
The incident occured at the family’s residence located at 15513 SW 102nd Court, in the Palmetto States community. Rodríguez recounts that a SWAT team forcibly entered their home while she, her husband, three children – including a three-year-old – and her mother were sleeping, tearing off the door and removing them from the house before shots rang out.
“My three-year-old son saw how they killed his brother,” Rodríguez saeid, visibly distraught. ”They shot him down as if he were a criminal. He had nothing to do with what they were looking for.”
Barata was a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent at Miami International Airport and was preparing to join the Army, according to his mother. His brother, 25-year-old Cristian Barata, also a TSA agent, was detained during the operation.
Rodríguez vehemently denies any family involvement in crimes related to child pornography, the alleged focus of the investigation according to Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz. “My children work, they don’t use drugs, they don’t have problems.They didn’t do anything. I don’t understand why they came in like that or why they killed me,” she stated.
Sheriff Cordero-Stutz reported to local media that deputies evacuated two adults and a child prior to the shooting, and that an armed man confronted officers at the door. However, the family disputes this account, claiming no one attempted to open the door and that her husband was detained without explanation, with no proper proclamation of entry made by the agents.
The florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has assumed the investigation, standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. The family has announced their intention to pursue legal action to determine the full circumstances surrounding Christopher Barata’s death. Rodríguez,overwhelmed with grief,repeatedly stated,”They killed him,they killed him.”