Police say Micah Tilley acknowledged firing a handgun and rifle after seeing another armed man cross the street toward him.
MIAMI, Fla. — A 33-year-old man accused in a Liberty City shooting told Miami police he was defending himself after seeing an armed man approach, but investigators arrested him on attempted murder and other charges after reviewing surveillance video and evidence from the scene.
Micah Lendale Tilley of Opa-locka was taken into custody after the Sept. 27 shooting near Northwest 15th Avenue and Northwest 68th Street. Police said the other man was shot in the leg and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition. Tilley’s self-defense statement is part of the investigative record, but authorities have not said that the shooting was legally justified.
The confrontation began shortly after 5 p.m., according to police. Investigators said surveillance video showed the wounded man getting out of a blue Ford Fiesta while carrying a gun and then crossing the street. Police allege Tilley began firing a handgun in the man’s direction.
The arrest report describes the encounter continuing after the initial shots. Police said Tilley retrieved a rifle from a Subaru and fired it toward the other man. As the man ran down Northwest 68th Street, investigators allege Tilley followed him while continuing to fire the rifle.
Officers were sent to the area after a ShotSpotter alert. At the scene, investigators documented numerous spent casings and vehicles struck by gunfire. Police found the wounded man nearby and said a Glock handgun was also recovered near him. Paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment.
Authorities said Tilley approached an officer roughly 15 minutes after the shooting and acknowledged that he was involved. He told the officer the shooting had been an act of self-defense, according to the arrest report. Police later interviewed him in more detail about the confrontation.
Tilley told detectives he fired after seeing the other man get out of his vehicle with a firearm, according to police. Investigators said he acknowledged firing both a handgun and a rifle but told them he could not remember which weapon he used first. Surveillance footage is among the evidence investigators used to reconstruct the encounter.
Police arrested Tilley on charges including attempted murder, use of a firearm while committing a felony, unlawful discharge of a firearm, improper exhibition of a firearm and criminal solicitation. Those allegations have not been proven in court, and the arrest report represents the police account of the case rather than a finding of guilt.
The available reports do not establish why the two armed men encountered each other or whether they knew each other before the shooting. Authorities also have not publicly announced a final conclusion about Tilley’s self-defense claim. Determining whether a shooting was legally justified depends on the evidence and circumstances examined during the investigation and court process.
Family members identified the wounded man to NBC 6 South Florida as Gerald Williams and said he later died, but authorities had not confirmed that information in the latest reporting reviewed. Police have not publicly released a final account of the confrontation, and the criminal case against Tilley remains pending.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 1, 2026.