REMEMBER Maria
Maria de la Cruz
51 YEARS OLD ·
Miami,
Florida
Maria de la Cruzwas a 51-year-old middle school teacher at Doral Academy Just Arts and Management Charter Middle School in Miami-Dade County, Florida. She taught mathematics and Spanish, including algebra and geometry, and was remembered by her school community for her compassion, dedication, and commitment to her students. Maria was also a mother. Her colleagues and school leadership shared tributes recognizing the care she brought to her classroom and the relationships she built with students. She died on September 1, 2023, shortly before the beginning of the school year.
Maria Cruz de la Cruz was a middle school educator who taught mathematics and Spanish at Doral Academy Just Arts and Management Charter Middle School.
She taught algebra, geometry, and Spanish. Through her work, Maria supported students across multiple academic subjects.
After her death, the school community remembered Maria for her dedication to education and the compassion she showed her students.
School leadership described her as a teacher whose commitment and care had made a lasting impression on those she taught.
Maria was also a mother to daughters, whose privacy is preserved in this archive.
A memorial fundraiser organized through her school described the affection and respect she had earned within the educational community.
THE RECORD
On Friday, September 1, 2023, Miami-Dade police responded to reports of a shooting at a residence in the Palmetto Estates area of Miami-Dade County.
Officers discovered Maria Cruz de la Cruz, her husband, and another man suffering from gunshot wounds. A second woman was present at the residence but was not injured.
According to statements provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department to HuffPost, Maria's husband died at the scene from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Maria and the other wounded man, described by police as a family acquaintance, were transported to a local hospital.
Maria died from her injuries shortly afterward.
The other man remained in critical condition at the time of the initial reporting.
The Miami-Dade Police Department's homicide bureau investigated the incident and determined that it was a murder-suicide.
RELATIONSHIP CONTEXT
Husband
Maria Cruz de la Cruz was married to the man identified by Miami-Dade police as responsible for her death.
Police confirmed that the couple lived together at the time of the shooting.
The available English-language reporting does not establish a documented history of domestic violence, threats, coercive control, stalking, or separation before the incident.
Investigators had not publicly established a motive in the September 2023 reports.
LEGAL / SYSTEM RESPONSE
On September 1, 2023, Miami-Dade police responded to a reported shooting at a residence in the 9900 block of Southwest 165th Terrace at approximately 4:20 p.m.
Officers discovered three people with gunshot wounds, including Maria and her husband.
Maria and another wounded man were transported to Jackson South Medical Center. Her husband was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Miami-Dade Police Department subsequently confirmed that Maria's husband had shot her and the other man before taking his own life.
The department's homicide bureau investigated the incident as a murder-suicide.
The supplied reporting does not establish any earlier police responses or protective orders involving the couple.
SOURCES
Mourners pay tribute to doral academy math teacher killed in palmetto estates shooting
WSVN
INFORMATION LIMITATIONS
Maria's exact birth date has not been verified.
The perpetrator's name was not released in the contemporary reporting reviewed.
The available sources do not establish the duration of Maria's marriage or any previous history of abuse.
No prior protective orders, documented threats, stalking, strangulation, or previous domestic violence reports have been identified.
A Spanish-language Univision report describes the additional wounded man as a daughter's boyfriend who intervened during a confrontation. English-language police statements identify him more generally as a family acquaintance. The precise circumstances of his involvement have not been independently confirmed
TRANSPARENCY / RECORD NOTE
Maria's death was documented in reporting from HuffPost, NBC 6 South Florida, CBS Miami, and other local news organizations using statements from the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Her school confirmed that she taught mathematics and Spanish and had worked in education for nearly a decade.
Former students described Maria as approachable, caring, and supportive. At a school memorial gathering, students recalled that she made learning enjoyable, welcomed conversations beyond classroom assignments, and offered comfort when they needed support.
More than 100 people gathered at Doral Academy on September 3, 2023, to remember Maria.
REMEMBER Maria.
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