Man Wielding Gun Arrested, No One Hurt

A 47-year-old Key West man was arrested for robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Late Thursday afternoon, the Key West Police Department received multiple 911 calls around 4:16 p.m. about a man with a firearm inside of the Lime Tree Food Mart located at 1816 Flagler Avenue.

Osmel Garcia was known to frequent Lime Tree Food Mart and had been kicked out numerous times by the store employees. On Thursday, Garcia went into the store and brandished a semi-automatic .32 caliber handgun. Video evidence showed Garcia in the store pointing the loaded firearm at customers and employees, and eventually turning the gun on himself.

Garcia never fired the gun, but he took a beer from the establishment and drank it while waving the gun in the air during the chaos. As Key West Police Officers and Detectives began arriving on scene, Garcia was seen locking the entrance/exit door of Lime Tree Food Mart while customers and employees hid throughout the store. Key West Police gave multiple commands to Garcia to drop the gun and exit the store. Garcia ultimately tossed the gun outside before exiting the store. Garcia was taken into custody shortly thereafter. No one was injured during the incident. Key West Police Department Detectives took over the investigation and Garcia was arrested on multiple charges and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center.