INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — A man who opened fire on Indian River County deputies serving an eviction notice — killing one deputy and wounding one other and a locksmith — has died from his injuries, authorities said Saturday.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a Facebook post Saturday afternoon that the gunman, 37-year-old Michael Halberstam, died at 3:41 p.m., one day after the shootout inside a home in the Bermuda Club community along State Road A1A.
Deputy Terri Sweeting-Mashkow, 47, a 25-year veteran of the agency, was killed in the exchange of gunfire.
In the same post, the sheriff’s office announced she has been posthumously promoted to sergeant and will be referred to as Sgt. Sweeting-Mashkow going forward.
“Sweeting-Mashkow made the ultimate sacrifice,” Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a press conference on Friday. “Having to call her mother and her husband is the worst part of being a law enforcement leader.”
Authorities said the confrontation began Friday morning as deputies attempted to serve a court-ordered eviction requested by Halberstam’s mother.
As deputies and a locksmith entered the home, Halberstam retrieved a gun and “began indiscriminately firing,” Flowers said.
Deputy Florentino “Tino” Arizpe, a 25-year department veteran, was shot in the shoulder and is recovering. The locksmith, identified by relatives as David Long, was critically injured and underwent emergency surgery.
A sergeant and Arizpe returned fire, striking Halberstam. It remains under investigation whether Sweeting-Mashkow fired her weapon.
Authorities confirmed that Halberstam had a history of legal trouble, including a 2006 narcotics case and a 2015 misdemeanor assault charge in Virginia. Flowers said he recently lost his job and had made troubling social media posts about his former employer, UPS, and the sheriff’s office.
Friday’s shooting marked only the second line-of-duty death in the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office’s 100-year history. A procession of deputies escorted Sweeting-Mashkow’s body to the medical examiner’s office Friday afternoon.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, which is standard in deputy-involved shootings. Funeral arrangements for Sweeting-Mashkow will be announced at a later date, the sheriff’s office said.
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