BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy was on duty and wearing his uniform when he used his work-issued handgun to shoot his ex-girlfriend and then kill himself, police said.
Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said Monday that Deputy Michael DeMarco was on duty and used his PBSO-issued gun to commit the attempted murder-suicide Thursday morning at the Inlet Harbor Club.
Slater said DeMarco approached the woman as she was walking her dog and shot her several times before turning the gun on himself.
Police on Monday also released the 911 call that a resident at the Inlet Harbor Club made moments after the shooting.
"I just seen a sheriff that works here walk up to this girl that he used to date and just shot her, and then I heard a gunshot and he shot himself," the caller told the 911 dispatcher.
The dispatcher asked him to clarify.
"OK, a sheriff?" she asked.
The man identified the shooter as a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy.
"He shot her and then shot himself?" the dispatcher asked.
"Yeah, they're both laying on the ground," he answered.
Slater said investigators determined that DeMarco and the victim started dating in May, but their relationship ended about three weeks before the shooting.
The woman was taken to Delray Medical Center, where she remained in critical but stable condition Monday afternoon.