Neighbor dispute leaves two victims and suspect dead
By John Iz, Ari Hait
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PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (WPBF) — Authorities confirmed that 62-year-old Paul Maraio, the suspect in the Tropical East HOA double homicide, has died.
Port St. Lucie officials say Maraio died around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
A neighborhood dispute in the Tropical East Community of Port St. Lucie resulted in two deaths and a suspect injured after a standoff with police Thursday afternoon. Port St. Lucie police Chief Leo Niemczyk described the scene as chaotic when officers first arrived.
“You can imagine. There were multiple neighbors out and about in the area. And we had two people shot in two locations and a suspect at large,” Niemczyk said.
The police chief explained that officers immediately asked residents to shelter in place due to the uncertainty of the suspect’s whereabouts. The victims were shot near their homes, and the suspect was identified as one of their neighbors.
“It appears there was some sort of ongoing neighbor dispute and something just brought our suspect to the edge today, where he took things into his own hands,” Niemczyk said.
Police have identified the suspect as Paul Maraio, 62, of Port St. Lucie.
Officers on scene learned that Maraio had fled into a third home, taking a woman inside hostage. SWAT teams and crisis negotiators responded and began a dialogue with him.
“About an hour in, he released the hostage. He was inside the home by himself, armed and barricaded,” Niemczyk said.
The standoff lasted for two and a half hours, during which Maraio informed police that he had shot himself in the chest. Police deployed an interior drone to assess the situation.
“We were able to see where he was in the house. We could eventually see that he was in fact injured,” Niemczyk said.
Officers then entered the home and took Maraio into custody. He was flown to a hospital for treatment of the gunshot wound. Niemczyk stated that if he survives, he will face multiple charges, including two counts of homicide.
Nearby Mariposa Elementary School was not directly involved in the incident, but 14 children who were there for aftercare were kept inside until police deemed it safe for them to leave.
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