In an incredible coincidence, a neighbor of the Halberstam family involved in the shooting at Bermuda Club a month ago that left three people dead was also a neighbor of the shooter’s grandfather, named Michael Halberstam just like his grandson, when the grandfather was killed in a handgun crime in Washington, D.C., 45 years ago.
“It’s just an incredible coincidence,” says Carlo Rietveld, a retired international banker born in Holland and now living in Sea Oaks just across the fence from the Governors Way Bermuda Club home where the shocking local shooting occurred.
“I think it’s another illustration of the tragedy of handgun killings which would never have happened if they weren’t so easily available and within reach. In our generally non-violent neighborhood, the real problem is the uncontrolled availability of handguns.”
Rietveld was not home when the Bermuda Club shooting occurred. He heard about it on the news while visiting his daughter in Los Angeles and realized immediately the incident had happened only a few hundred feet from his home.
“When I got back home, of course that’s all my neighbors talked about,” Rietveld says.
The case did bring back memories for Rietveld from the 1980 shooting in Washington, D.C. Halberstam’s grandfather – who was both Rietveld’s cardiologist and a personal friend – was killed when he and his wife returned home early from an engagement and surprised a burglar robbing their home.
The burglar, who was armed with a handgun, told Halberstam and his wife to hit the floor and stay put. But Halberstam got up, ran after the burglar and was shot twice.
As his wife drove him to the hospital, they spotted the burglar running through a yard. His wife chased the burglar across yards with her car and ran him down. The hit broke the leg of the burglar, identified later as a prison escapee, who was apprehended by police, tried, and returned to prison where he died in 1997.
But Halberstam’s wounds from the shooting were aggravated by the car crash, and he died two hours later on the operating table of nearby Sibley hospital.
When Rietveld retired to Sea Oaks in 2004, he happened to meet Bradley Halberstam at the Vero Beach Habitat Restore, where she volunteered as a cashier. He recognized the name and established that she was indeed married to his late friend’s son.
Rietveld said he had no further contact with the local Halberstam family.
“It’s just a tragedy all around,” Rietveld said.
