A man thought Florida cops were ‘Mexican cartel’ and say he shot one through hotel door

Why did a 28-year-old Sebastian man shoot at police officers through his hotel room door?

Details are emerging after Melbourne police in Florida arrested and charged Lukas Edward Alves with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Cops say he shot an officer, 26-year-veteran K-9 Officer Gregory Hughes, around 5 p.m. Sept. 9.

Alves was also charged with aggravated assault with a firearm after police said he shot into an occupied building and used a firearm while committing a felony. The latter two charges carry a total $40,000 bail but he’s being held with no bail on the attempted murder charge.

According to the officers’ arrest report, they were called to the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard near the Melbourne Airport after they got a 911 call from one of the rooms in which the caller hung up.

After officers turned up at Room 109 where Alves was inside with a female roommate, they knocked on the door to inquire about the 911 call — a “well-being check,” Melbourne Police Chief David Gillespie said in a video posted to Facebook. That’s when Alves shouted, “There are a bunch of armed gunmen, and I’m going to die,” according to the arrest report.

Alves apparently thought the people at his door were members of the “Mexican cartel,” sent there to steal his belongings, officers said.

Alves “claim had no logical basis because the officers were all Caucasian, none of them spoke Spanish, and they clearly identified themselves as police officers. Additionally, they were all dressed in police uniforms with a badge and Melbourne Police insignia,” the arrest report reads.

Alves reportedly asked for the officers’ identification and badge numbers, which they say they provided repeatedly. But Alves “hid behind a partition in an offensive stance” inside his room, counted down “3-2-1” and shot through the door with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, striking Officer Hughes, police said.

Two officers exchanged gunfire and SWAT officers were called out to assist, Melbourne police said. Some of Alves’ rounds went through the walls of Room 113 across the hallway. Two people were inside that room at the time but were uninjured, the arrest report said.

“I was sitting there watching TV, getting ready to watch the news, and all of a sudden there was ‘bang, bang’ — the loudest banging on the door,” Suburban Extended Stay resident Greg Ripp told WESH-Channel 2.

Hughes was wearing his bulletproof vest and was bruised in the chest and a projectile cut his chin, police said. Hughes was treated at a nearby hospital and released.

In a video thanking the community and reporting on Hughes’ condition, Gillespie said Hughes appreciated the outpouring of support.

According to the arrest report, both people then surrendered and were taken into custody. Only Alves has been charged.

Alves is scheduled to appear in court to formally hear the charges on Oct. 11, according to records.