◆ SpookStack

* FBI agent's mother, a Beeville resident, is proud of son's heroism /iGA Knigh-Ridder News Serviee . . MLAMI - As his fellow FBI agents Jay bieeding and dying asound him end two suspected: bank robbers ined ido gel away in a government car, “Special Agent and former South Tex- an Ed Mireles, wounded badly in the jeft arm, cravled about seven yards " go the driver's side door, stood up, steadied himself and emptied his re- volver through the open window. As the two men in the car lay dy- | img, Mireles sank to the ground, bleeding. Police sirens screamed in the distance. The worst massacre in : the history of ihe FBI was over. “The bad guys thought all the - agents were down, and they were gel- ung Teady 10 leave,” sad an Investi- gator charged with recreating the scene. “Somehow, Mireles got to the car, 1 don't know how. He killed them both with his revolver.” _- The agent's heroism was one of the ; few bright spots in a Wagedy a week ago that Jefi Agent Gerald Dove and Special Agent Benjamin Grogan dead and Mireles and four otber agents wounded on # quiet, wee-lined Ken- dal! Sireet. No passers-by were wounded in the shooting. largely because the FBI agents waited io make the arrest until they were on a side street and held their fire when motorists gol in the way. ' Metro detectives say the men who o shot the agents, William R. Matis { * and Michael Lee Platt, were suspects "ia more than a half-dozen robberies * of armored.cars and banks, the killing of one bank guard. and ihe wounding ‘y — af two others, They're also suspected __ ef shooting at least three otber people ata West Dade rock pit frequented ther man had 2 criminal Agenls, ins ésligators and sitnesses Piease see Hero/15A Sep a by target shooters, but police say wei- | ‘Hero “, gave this account of the events that led up “40 Mireles’ Jone, desperaté assault on the " attackers’ car. . 8 Garick AYA | 7 iS56 FROM PAGE 1A After a wild chase up South Dunie High- | way, Platt and Matix smeshed their car into & tree. Almost before the car came to a slop, the men began finng ai the agents. Matix, an ex-Marine, opened up with a ketha) Ruger Mini-14; Platt cut loose with a i2-gauge shotgun. Most of the agents weren'l wearing bul- : letpreof vests, but some held them in front of them like shields, for protection. The agents fought back with standard aix-shot 38<caliber Smith & Wesson re- volvers, but they had little chance. Grogao and Dove were cul down soon afier they pe I oe at a ee _? fa ~~ Jumped from their car. Everyone else wa wounded or taking cover from the Ruger, A23-cali ber semiautomatic with a 30-sho ip. As Dove and Grogan lay dying, some o the wounded agents kept firing. Mireles, the only agent who had 2 shot gun, was hit and kurt badly but kept shoo ing. At one point, he was about five tc seven yards away from Matix and Plat trying to fire the gun from behind the trun! of a government car. With his bad ieft arm however, he couldn't aim straigh or reload Mireles fired once, but it went wide t the efi. Buckshot tore into the car's lef front quarter panel, as Matix and Plat tried furiously to get into the car. Mirele ae gee ae a oo ee ee et ga we BT me nee Neer ty ae dropped the shotgun and got down behi It’s not known if one or the other . wounded during the earlier shooting. d "both were well enough to climb into! - government car. With Mireles down, “apparently thought they had killed wounded everyong, they ined startling In w panic, Mireles scuttled forward _ his hands and knees. As the men in the concentrated on getting ii goir Mire bleeding, stood up. He squeezed ihe six times. ~ 4 When paramedics got there a few me: > ules later, they pulled Platt and Matiz fr the car. They wert already dead." a a ;