PALM BAY, Fla. — Police have identified the victim in Saturday’s deadly Palm Bay shooting as 48-year-old Michael Shawn Akerberg.
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Police said he was shot after an argument inside the suspect’s home.
The suspect, 24-year-old Thomas Pastor, Junior, is being held without bond despite his attorney’s efforts.
Pastor has no criminal records, but he’s facing a life felony.
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Neighbors living near the Cromey Road residence where the shooting took place Saturday said they find the entire situation hard to believe.
“He’s a really nice kid. he’s always helping his mother, always waving whenever he sees me,” neighbor Paul Lepinskie said. “He says hi, he helps his younger siblings in and out of the car. I’ve never had any issues with them, and I’ve never had any issues with him.”
Pastor didn’t approve of his mother’s relationship with the victim, and investigators said that Pastor became upset when Akerberg tried to get his mother and siblings to leave the residence.
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A single shot was fired inside the home.
Pastor later told police he feared for the safety of his siblings.
Akerberg was able to make it to a neighbor’s front door where he was captured on a surveillance camera before being transported to the hospital where he died.
Pastor was eventually arrested at a relative’s home in West Melbourne.
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