INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — Authorities are investigating a deputy shooting that turned deadly in Vero Beach on Friday morning.
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers confirmed that Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, 47, was killed. A second deputy, along with the gunman and a locksmith, were also wounded in the incident.
Flowers said the shooting occurred as deputies were serving an eviction notice at a home near the 1100 block of Governor’s Way in the Bermuda Club community along A1A, roughly 140 miles north of Miami. The eviction was requested by the suspect’s mother.
“Our deputies and a locksmith were on scene in an effort to evict him, court process, court paperwork, moved him out of that house,” Flowers said. “While they were in the entryway, having just made entry into the home, Michael Halberstam retrieved a weapon and he began indiscriminately firing at our deputies on scene.”
Three deputies responded to the shooting.
Flowers said Deputy Florentino “Tino” Arizpe, a 25-year veteran, was shot in the shoulder and retreated into the garage. He confirmed that Arizpe is “recovering but hurt.”
“Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, 47 years old, 25 years and 16 days of service with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, made the ultimate sacrifice today and was killed in the line of duty inside of that residence,” Flowers said.
Flowers said a sergeant and Arizpe fired their weapons, adding that it remains under investigation whether Sweeting-Mashkow fired hers. Halberstam and the locksmith, who family members identifed Saturday as David Long, remain in critical condition after having surgery.
Flowers said Halberstam, 37, had prior legal issues, including a 2006 narcotics charge and a 2015 misdemeanor assault charge in Virginia. He also previously made a social media post towards his former employee UPS and “negative” comments about the IRCSO.
“This is the everyday call, the eviction, the regular duties that our deputies bravely do every day in and out,” Flowers said. “Having to call her mom today and having to call her husband is absolutely the worst part of being a law enforcement leader.”
Authorities said the injured deputies were transported to Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce.
CNN affiliate WPBF reported that at least a dozen sheriff’s vehicles and unmarked law enforcement cars, including an armored vehicle, were seen speeding along U.S. 1 in Vero Beach.
A procession was held as deputies transported Sweeting-Mashkow’s body to the medical examiner’s office.
This is the second confirmed fatal shooting of a deputy in South Florida in the past two weeks. On Nov. 7, Miami-Dade Deputy Devin Jaramillo, 27, was killed while responding to a traffic crash in the Kendall district.
Sweeting-Mashkow became only the second deputy in the agency’s 100-year history to lose her life in the line of duty.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting, which is standard protocol for any deputy shooting.
The IRCSO released a statement on the fatal shooting that claimed the life of their beloved deputy, which you can read here:
Watch the press conference here:
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