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Woman shot and killed, possible suspect shot by deputies in Okeechobee County

Posted at 6:41 PM, Jul 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-30 14:29:47-04

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. -- The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office says a woman is dead and a man is in the hospital after he was shot by deputies Friday afternoon.

The Sheriff’s office says a man shot and killed a woman at a home in the Larkee Lakes neighborhood.

Neighbors there say an elderly woman lives in the home with her son and his wife. Neighbors say the man shot and killed his wife.

Neighbor Glenn Martin says he heard a single gun shot in the afternoon. About 10 minutes later, he says he saw the elderly woman, pale and in shock.

“I said, is everything alright, ma’am? She says no, my son shot his wife. I said, oh no!” Martin said.

Martin said he called 911.

The elderly woman continued giving him details while he was on the phone with dispatchers.

She told Martin her son left the house with his gun.

“She says after he left, [she] walked out there and [the woman] is laying in the dining room in a pool of blood.”

Deputies were given a vehicle description and found the possible suspect vehicle not far from Larkee Lakes.

There are few details about the events that happened after deputies found the vehicle, but shots were fired at the man who was in the car.

He was taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center. His condition Friday night was not available.

The sheriff’s office has not said if the man also shot at deputies, but no law enforcement officers were injured.

Martin said he knew the couple fought, but never thought it would escalate to this.

“I knew he was a walking time bomb. I could tell that he had rage, especially when he was drinking,” Martin said.

Detectives have not said if alcohol was a factor in the violence.

Friday night, the sheriff’s office did not release the names of the woman who was killed, the man shot by law enforcement officers, or the names of the deputies involved.”