These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.
Around 1:30 on a Saturday morning in Hialeah, 29-year-old Brandon H. was out on a call for a mobile tire-repair service, working on a customer’s car. The customer checked the tire that had gone on, saw that it was a used one, and got angry.
The police department’s spokesman, on how that came about: “No hablaron si iba a ser nueva o era para resolver como dicen.”1 They’d never talked about whether it would be a new tire or just something to get by on.
The customer threatened Brandon and kept getting more aggressive, to the point that a friend of his got up to try to calm him down. Seeing how aggressive the man was, Brandon went to his own car.
That’s the right move, even if you’re armed: Get away from the angry man and let his friend calm him down. Of course, it’s possible that Brandon went to his car to arm himself. Either way, it was the right decision.
The customer went to his car, too, and he pulled a machete out of it. Then he charged. Brandon took out a gun and shot him several times.
Michel Lope Montes de Oca, 36, died at the scene. Brandon stayed there until police arrived, and they took him into custody. It didn’t last. The department’s statement said:
Based on the information obtained by Detectives, it was determined that this was a justified shooting in self-defense.
The prosecutor’s office, which arrived along with the investigators, came to the same conclusion, and Brandon faced no charges.
A neighbor, Otoniel Valdés, told reporters he was stunned. “Las personas están muy agresivas hoy por hoy,” he said: People are very aggressive these days. You have to stop and think, he added, that “la vida de uno vale más que cualquier cosa.” Your own life is worth more than anything.
Sources
News
In English
Man with machete killed in self-defense shooting in Hialeah over used tire: Police (NBC 6 South Florida)
Mechanic kills machete-wielding customer over tire dispute in self-defense shooting, Hialeah Police say (WSVN 7News)
Mechanic fatally shoots Hialeah man in “self-defense” over car tire dispute, police say (CBS Miami)
Police: Mechanic reports killing upset costumer [sic] wielding machete in Hialeah (WPLG Local 10, via the Wayback Machine)
Dispute Over Tire Repair Leads to Fatality of Cuban Man in Hialeah (CubaHeadlines)
En Español
Telemundo 51 ran two articles. The follow-up got the spokesman’s account of the argument, a neighbor’s reaction, and the prosecutor’s finding.
Hombre armado con machete muere tras ser baleado en Hialeah (Spanish version of NBC 6’s story)
Hombre armado con machete muere tras ser baleado en Hialeah luego de una discusión (Follow-up)
Other coverage:
Una disputa en Hialeah por la reparación de un neumático termina en tragedia (Yahoo Noticias)
Violenta discusión por una llanta usada termina con un hombre abatido en Hialeah (Periódico Cubano)
Mecánico abate a tiros a su cliente durante una discusión en Hialeah (Asere Noticias)
2A / Specialist Media
Tire Repair Gone Wrong: Mechanic Fatally Shoots Florida Man Who Pulled Machete During Argument (USA Carry)
The Armed Citizen® Feb. 3, 2025 (American Rifleman)
I don’t speak Spanish, so I’m giving the exact quotes in Spanish and machine-translated glosses alongside. If you see an error, please let me know.
Wow. What a ridiculous thing to lose your life over. "Sorry, I must not have been clear -- I wanted a new tire. Can you change it, please?"