The suspect in a deadly deputy involved shooting in Indian River County died Saturday, the sheriff’s office said.
One deputy was killed and a second deputy and a locksmith were wounded after a man who was being evicted from his mother’s home opened fire on them Friday, authorities said.
The incident began when three deputies and the locksmith were evicting the man from his mother’s home in the Bermuda Club gated community north of Vero Beach, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said.
The deputies and locksmith were in the home’s entryway when the suspect, 37-year-old Michael Halberstam, suddenly opened fire, Flowers said.
Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, 47, who had been with the sheriff’s office for 25 years, was killed.
The sheriff’s office announced Saturday that Sweeting-Mashkow was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. She will be addressed as Sgt. Sweeting-Mashkow moving forward.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken. I’ve worked my entire career with Terri, as have pretty much everybody else at the agency,” Flowers said. “Having to call her mom today, having to let her husband know, absolutely the worst part of being a law enforcement leader. I can tell you that our team will feel this forever. Terri was an amazing deputy, she had a beautiful heart and she will be missed.”
The second deputy, Florentino “Tino” Arizpe, was shot in the shoulder, the locksmith was also shot, and a sergeant who was there wasn’t injured. The locksmith, whose name wasn’t released, was undergoing surgery and in critical condition while Arizpe was recovering at a hospital.
Deputies returned fire and Halberstam was shot multiple times, Flowers said. He underwent surgery Friday but later died Saturday.
“What an awful day, six days before Thanksgiving,” Flowers said.
Flowers said they’d received seven calls to the residence just this month, almost all from Halberstam’s mother.
Halberstam had been recently fired from his job and had been posting negative items about the sheriff’s office on Facebook, Flowers said.
“This is not someone who was on our radar, this is not somebody that we were actively engaged with,” Flowers said. “This was a standard call for service, this is the every day call, the eviction, the regular duties that our deputies bravely do every day, in and out.”
Mashkow had started as dispatcher, worked in patrol for 20 years, and in 2023 she joined the legal process civil unit, Flowers said.
Flowers said it was the second line of duty death in the 100-year history of the sheriff’s office.
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