The suspect in a deadly double homicide in Port St. Lucie was pronounced dead early Wednesday morning following a tense standoff with police, authorities said.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD) reported that officers responded to a shooting near SE Tropical Circle around 3:15 p.m. Monday. Residents in the area were advised to remain indoors as police secured the scene. Two men, believed to be from separate homes in the neighborhood, were found shot—one outside his residence and the other in a garage. Both were confirmed deceased at the scene.
According to PSLPD, the suspect, identified as 62-year-old Paul Maraio, then entered a third home and took a woman hostage. The situation prompted a SWAT deployment and the use of drones while the department’s crisis negotiation team worked to resolve the standoff. After approximately two and a half hours, the woman was safely released.
Police said Maraio then barricaded himself in the home and informed officers that he had shot himself. When officers entered the residence, he was found with a gunshot wound to the chest. Maraio was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead just before 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Port St. Lucie Police Chief Leo Niemczyk described the violence as stemming from an ongoing dispute between neighbors. “It appears that there was some ongoing neighbor dispute, and something just brought our suspect to the edge today where he took things into his own hands,” Niemczyk said.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the events leading up to the shootings. Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
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