Indian River County Deputy shot dead trying to serve eviction notice in Vero Beach, Florida after suspect’s mother requesting eviction of her son.
A deputy was killed and another injured after a suspect opened fire as law enforcement officials attempted to serve an eviction notice in Vero Beach according to Florida officials.
Deputies on Friday had gone to a home at 1137 Governors Way in Bermuda Club, a gated community in Vero Beach to serve an eviction notice to Michael Halberstam, authorities said.
While deputies and a locksmith were in the entryway, Halberstam went to another part of the home and grabbed a weapon and began ‘indiscriminately firing’ at the individuals standing in the hallway, with deputies firing back according to to Sheriff Eric Flowers with the Indian River Sheriff’s Office.
Police had been called to the residence numerous times by the suspect’s mother
Shot and mortally wounded was Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, 47, a sheriff’s deputy with the Indian River County Office. Another deputy, Deputy Tino Arizpe who was shot in the shoulder, is recovering at a hospital according to a Friday noon press briefing.
Sgt. Gary Farless was at the scene but not injured. A locksmith, who was also at the scene, was also injured in the shooting. The locksmith is in critical condition, Sheriff Flowers stated.
Halberstam is currently in critical condition and in surgery, Flowers told reporters.
Terry had served with the IRC Sheriff’s Office for 25 years, having started as a dispatcher, WFTV reported.
Flowers said he is heartbroken by Mashkow’s death, having worked his whole career with her.
Tenant had recently been fired along with making unsettling FB posts
Sheriff Flowers said that deputies were serving the eviction notice to Halberstam at the request of his mother. According to Flowers, deputies had previously been called to the residence multiple times.
‘(Halberstam) was not someone that was on our radar; this was not someone that we were actively engaged with,’ Flowers told reporters. ‘This was a standard call for service.’
‘We’ve had seven calls to this residence, all this month, nothing before that,’ Flowers said. ‘Almost all of them from the mother, calling about him and her decision to ultimately evict him.’
It remained unclear if the Halberstram’s mother was the owner and landlord of the residence where the suspect resident.
According to Sheriff Flowers, Halberstam has two previous charges out of Virginia—a 2006 narcotics charge and a 2015 misdemeanor assault charge.
Leading up to the tragedy, Halberstam had been fired from his job at UPS, FOX35 reported.
Not immediately clear is what led to the man’s firing and how long he had been employed with UPS.
Problem tenant
A regard of Halberstam‘s social media posts revealed him having made ‘strange posts’ Sheriff Flowers said. Halberstam reportedly made ‘terrible’ comments about his former employer, and he had also posted ‘negative items’ about the sheriff’s office on his Facebook page.
Not immediately clear is why Halberstam’s mother had sought to evict her son.
At about 6 p.m. Friday, Mashkow’s flag-draped coffin was escorted by law enforcement to the medical examiner’s office. This is the second line-of-duty death in the 100-year history of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
