Florida sheriff deputy killed in shooting at gated community, two people injured

A long-time Florida deputy was fatally shot Friday while serving an eviction notice at a gated community in Indian River County, and two other people were injured in the shooting.

Two sheriff's deputies were serving the eviction notice to Michael Halberstam at a home in Vero Beach, Florida, when the man allegedly began shooting at them, killing 47-year-old deputy Terri Mashkow and injuring deputy Florentino "Tino" Arizpe. 

A locksmith was also injured in the shooting, along with Halberstam, who was shot multiple times by the deputies. He is in critical condition at a hospital, said the county sheriff's office, according to ABC News. 

"What an awful day, six days before Thanksgiving," county Sheriff Eric Flowers said in a press conference. "This was a standard call for service. This is the everyday call, the eviction. Regular duties that our deputies bravely do." 

Flowers said Mashkow, who worked for the department for 25 years, is only the second "line-of-duty" death at the department in 100 years. 

"She had a beautiful heart, she will be missed," Flowers said of Mashkow.

The sheriff said the two deputies were serving the eviction notice at the request of Halberstam's mother, and Halberstam had been living with his mother. Flowers said officers had already responded to complaints at the house seven times just this month.

A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but Halberstam has two prior arrests on his record and investigators are scouring his social media accounts for further information, NBC News reported. 

"They’ve identified some strange posts on social media, identified that he was fired from UPS, that he made some terrible comments about them, and that he’s been posting some negative ideas about the Indian River County sheriff's office on his Facebook page," Flowers said.

Arizpe's condition was not immediately clear and authorities have not released the identity of the locksmith so far.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.