Craigslist Meetup Ends in Gunfire in Davie

Craigslist meetups often get a bad reputation due to the fear of getting cheated in a deal or someone not being who they claim to be. Rarely does a meetup end in a blaze of gunfire, but that is exactly what happened in Davie on the evening of November 1st.

According to police reports, a meeting between potential iPhone 7 buyer 38-year-old Matthew Barry and the seller of the phone, 20-year-old Andre Smith was taking place in a CVS parking lot. (BTW, always a good idea to pick a very public place for any Craigslist deals) The deal was going down and the money agreed on for the phone was passed from Barry to Smith. All that was left was for the phone to be passed, but according to Barry that never happened.

Barry claimed that Andre Smith was attempting to leave with the cash as well as the iPhone 7, so Barry went into the store and asked the employees to call the cops because he was being robbed.

Smith and an unnamed partner of his followed Barry into the store. It was at this point that Barry became worried so he told Smith and Smith’s friend that he had a concealed carry permit and was armed. Smith responded that he too was carrying a firearm.

That’s when things got very hairy very quickly. According to Davie Police Maj. Dale Engle “Surveillance video also shows Smith pursuing Barry around different displays at the front of the store, Mr. Barry is able to separate himself and push Smith away from him, physically push him away, and he’s able to retrieve a gun that he has on him and he fires several rounds striking Smith.”

So as you can see, this situation escalated very quickly, though Matthew Barry did everything correctly from meeting in public, to announcing that he was carrying, to only using his gun defensively. Yet still there was chaos and confusion. Luckily Barry remained calm and only escalated the situation to the degree he HAD to.

Andre Smith later died from the injuries sustained by Barry’s hail of bullets. Police said though this happened, Matthew Barry will not be seeing any jail time due to the defensive nature of the shooting.

What do you think of this story? Do you feel you are well-trained enough to handle a situation like this? Let us know in the comments below.

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Fatal-Davie-CVS-Shooting-Was-Craigslist-Transaction-Gone-Wrong-Cops-454765743.html