BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities on Friday identified a Florida deputy who they say shot a woman and then turned the gun on himself.
Boynton Beach police said in an email that Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael DeMarco was the shooter. He died at the scene. The woman was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Her name has not been released under rules protecting the identities of domestic violence victims.
Police said the shooting happened Thursday morning inside a gated Boynton Beach neighborhood. DeMarco, dressed in an official uniform, approached the woman while she was walking her dog and fired several shots. He then fatally shot himself.
Investigators said the two had dated since May. The SunSentinel reports a friend of the woman’s said she had decided to end the relationship recently.
“It came out of nowhere. He just started harassing her once the breakup happened,” the friend, Yeni Gonzalez, told the newspaper.
Palm Beach County court records show DeMarco filed a lawsuit against the woman on Sept. 27 in an apparent dispute over a mattress and a mirror for which he was seeking payment.
The ages and races of the two have not been released.
Media outlets report that DeMarco had worked for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office since 1995, and before that he was a police officer in Lake Worth for about eight years. A sheriff’s spokeswoman said DeMarco worked as a detective involved in civil matters, such as serving subpoenas.
