Martha Jean Muskas, 94, Vero Beach

‘Happened in five seconds’ – Man fatally shot after lunging at deputies with scissors

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 29-year-old patient was fatally shot at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital after deputies said he lunged at officers with a pair of large scissors Saturday. The Treasure Coast man's name was not publicly released. "It happened in five seconds. He could've killed anyone in that hospital. He committed suicide by cop," Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a Sunday news conference in front of the sheriff's administration building. "The deputies did what they were trained to do." This is the second deputy-involved shooting to happen in the county within three days. The names of the two SWAT team members who shot at the man were not released. Both deputies were placed on paid ...

Low beach attendance for January; no water rescues

VERO BEACH — While chilly temperatures caused a drop in beach attendance last month, lifeguards are happy to report that there were no water rescues that occurred in January. "It's a great thing," Vero Beach Lifeguard Association officials said in a statement. "We hope people are paying attention to lifeguards and condition signs before they go into the water." The Vero Beach Lifeguard Association recently released its monthly report for the beaches at Jaycee Park, Humiston Park and South Beach Park. Lifeguards said about 54,105 beachgoers flocked to the shore in January. The highest beach-attendance record of 65,700 was set in 2019 for Vero Beach, lifeguards said. The record low for beach attendance was set in 2016 with 36,000 people, ...

11-year-old breaks into church, steals laptop on Christmas Day

GIFFORD — An 11-year-old who deputies said broke into a church and stole a laptop on Christmas Day, was detained. Deputies also arrested the boy's mother after saying she failed to report the boy as missing. The Gifford youth told deputies he stole the $700 laptop because "he wanted something to play with," reports show. Deputies said the juvenile was a runaway. An arrest report noted the incident took place at St. Peter's Missionary Baptist Church, located just south of St. Peter's Academy. Both facilities have the same address at 4250 38th Avenue, Gifford. The report indicated the child previously attended the church or school, but it was unclear which one. Deputies charged the youth with burglary of a structure ...