By james art 
HIALEA, Fla. — In an early morning incident on Nov. 2, a heated dispute over a tire repair resulted in a fatal shooting at the intersection of West Second Avenue and 29th Street in Hialeah. Hialeah police said 29-year-old Brandon Hurst, a mechanic, shot and killed 36-year-old Michel Lope Montes de Oca after the latter brandished a machete and threatened him.
According to police, the altercation began around 1:30 a.m. when Montes de Oca contacted Hurst, who operates a mobile tire repair shop, to help with a flat tire. Upon inspecting the tire fitted by Hurst, Montes de Oca noticed that it was a used tire and became very excited. Police said Montes de Oca became “angry,” accusing Hearst of cheating and escalating the situation with verbal threats.
Lt. Eddie Rodriguez of the Hialeah Police Department explained that the argument quickly escalated when Montes de Oca pulled out a machete and pointed at Hearst in a threatening manner. In response, Hurst, fearing for his safety, pulled out a firearm and fired several shots at Montes de Oca, who was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived.
Hearst was taken into police custody for questioning, but was later released after authorities determined the shooting appeared to have been justified self-defense, given the immediate and deadly threat posed by the machete-wielding assailant.
Carrying a firearm for personal protection can be critical, especially for workers such as mechanics who handle service calls late into the evening. In this case, the availability of a firearm likely saved Hearst’s life when faced with an unexpected, deadly threat. Without the means to defend himself, the outcome could have been far different.