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Palm Bay SWAT officers kill man who shot wife multiple times, officials say

A domestic disturbance in Palm Bay turned deadly when SWAT officers killed a man who had just shot his wife several times, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said.
The domestic altercation was reported at about 7:17 p.m. Tuesday when the woman, who was not named, called 911 saying her husband, Demarco Newman, was threatening to hurt her and himself, police said.
The woman told dispatchers that she had barricaded herself in the bathroom and her husband was breaking down the door before the line went dead, officers said..
When officers arrived at the Lockheed Street home, they tried to make contact with someone inside the residence but got no answer, the Palm Bay Police Department said.
The Palm Bay SWAT Unit arrived and used a robot to breach the front door, officials said.
Once the door was open, deputies heard the woman screaming for help and saying she’d been shot several times, investigators said.
At about 10:30 p.m. SWAT officers were able to get to the woman and rescue her from the house, but during the operation there was a confrontation with her husband, deputies said.
Newman was shot and killed, BCSO said.
“While conducting the rescue, the SWAT officers encountered the husband who was armed with a handgun, and (we) were forced to shoot him,” said Chief Mark Renkens, Palm Bay Police Department.
Newman’s dog was also killed when it was standing between the suspect and the officer.
A family friend said the pair had been having trouble in recent days.
“Their relationship wasn’t good,” Pam Sims said.
Newman was the victim of a shooting in 2013 and was confined to a wheelchair, police said. According to court records, the shooter had a grudge with Newman over an ex-girlfriend and Newman was shot. That case is still pending.
“Let’s just hope he went to Heaven and I hope she recovers, and gets a better life,” said resident Frank Defuria.
When Sims heard there had been a shooting at the couple’s home, she immediately got concerned.
“I was hoping that he wasn’t killed and that she wasn’t killed,” Sims said. “They went through this a couple years ago.
The shooter’s wife was taken to the hospital where she was taken to surgery for treatment of multiple life-threatening gunshot wounds, officials said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the investigation into the shooting, which is standard procedure for deputy-involved shootings. 

PALM BAY, Fla. — Contact Melonie Holt for more on this story.