One man was killed and a second was arrested as authorities attempted to serve a search warrant in an investigation into child pornography and sexual abuse at a Miami-Dade home on Tuesday.
Here’s what to know.
What happened on Tuesday, Dec. 2?
Deputies were serving a search warrant that named Cristian Barata at his home on Southwest 155th Street and Southwest 102nd Court in Palmetto Estates around 5:30 a.m.
When they arrived, deputies made contact with two adults and a child at the door, and the three of them were safely removed from the property.
A short time later, an armed person came to the door and “confronted” authorities, the sheriff said. Cordero-Stutz said that subject “failed to obey the orders to drop the weapon,” and deputies opened fire. They rendered aid at the scene, but the subject did not survive.
Barata’s mother identified the deceased victim as his brother, Christopher. Authorities have not commented on Christopher Barata’s involvement in the investigation, if any.
When asked if deputies were the first to shoot and whether the suspect opened fire, Cordero-Stutz said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would be investigating those details, as is standard in law enforcement shootings.
After the shooting, Cristian Barata was removed from the home and taken into custody.
Ring video shows how several agents with the Special Response Team arrived in the dark, wearing tactical gear and banging on a side door with a hammer-like tool. Daytime video showed a large law enforcement presence in the area, including at least two armored trucks belonging to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office’s Special Response Team and several deputies in the area of a cul-de-sac.
No deputies were hurt in the shooting.
Once Cristian Barata was arrested, authorities said in an arrest report that his electronic devices were seized and he was taken in for an interview.
The sheriff’s office said he “invoked his right to legal counsel and refused to speak to detectives.” About an hour later, he asked to speak with detectives again, and allegedly provided a full confession.
Barata was charged with 15 counts of possessing images of sexual performance by a child and 10 counts of promoting or attempting to promote sexual performance by a child, before being taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. On Wednesday, his bond was set at $87,500.
“It’s very important to share with you that ICAC search warrants are the most dangerous warrants historically in law enforcement that we can serve,” Cordero-Stutz said. “It is unfortunate but just a fact, and therefore it’s important for the community to know that this is the kind of situation that we were encountering today.”
The case against Cristian Barata
According to an arrest report for Cristian Barata, on Oct. 11, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received multiple cyber tips from an electronic service provider reporting a user for uploading video containing child sexual abuse material.
South Florida agencies, including the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, were assigned to the tips later that month, and “through multiple legal processes, it was confirmed that the owner/user of the reported accounts to be the defendant, Cristian Barata,” authorities said.
In total, 11 cyber tips were reported to NCMEC for the same user, with the most current activity being in September of 2025, the arrest report states.
When authorities searched “stored electronic communications and/or files associated with the reported user,” they found dozens of images of child pornography along with “selfie-style photographs and videos” of Barata.
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office Special Response Team executed a search warrant at Barata’s home. Before they could arrest him, authorities said another man, identified by their mother as Christopher Barata, stepped out with a weapon and was fatally shot by deputies.
“The warrant for ICAC that was served included trading in this type of pornography and sexual abuse as well as watching,” Cordero-Stutz said. “We will continue to deep dive and ensure that any and all victims that we can identify and provide certain services to, that we will do that.”
Who are Cristian and Christopher Barata?
Judy Rodriguez told NBC6 that her son, 21-year-old Christopher Barata, was killed, and her other son, 25-year-old Cristian Barata, was the one taken into custody.
Later, Rodriguez could be seen crying at the scene of the shooting.
“They killed my son… they should’ve done things differently,” she said through sobs in Spanish. “They can say what they want, but in my house, there aren’t any guns. I don’t believe it’s true. They’ll have to show me.”
Rodriguez said she had more questions than answers about what happened Tuesday, but that “in a moment, they’ve destroyed my life.” She also promised to take legal action available to her.
“My other son they took… I don’t know anything about [the child pornography investigation] and I don’t believe it. He’s a good boy, who worked at the airport with TSA like his brother,” she said.
In a statement on Wednesday, TSA said: “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no tolerance for criminal behavior or misconduct on- or off-duty. The TSA employee involved has had his access to all secure areas of the airport immediately revoked and has been removed from all duties, pending the outcome of the case. TSA is fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.”
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