Man dead, woman in critical condition after domestic dispute

Police: Woman shot multiple times

DELTONA, Fla. – Deputies said a man has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and his girlfriend is in critical condition after being shot during a domestic dispute in Deltona. 

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office a Deltona woman, was shot by her boyfriend, Earl James Pallasch,34, of Deltona, while talking to a 911 operator early Sunday morning.

Deputies said they were called to a residence in the 1100-block of Michael Avenue at 12:30 a.m. Sunday from the woman claiming that Pallasch had busted out the windshield of her car with a chainsaw, choked her and threatened her with a gun.

The woman left the residence to make the 911 call but about three minutes into the call, she started screaming that Pallasch was coming toward her with a gun, deputies said.

"She was screaming, 'Stop.' I don't know, I have no idea. It was scary. She was just screaming her head off," neighbor Cassandra Quincoces said.

Moments later, the sound of gunfire could be heard and the woman told the 911 operator that she had been shot, Sheriff Office officials said.

Deputies said they arrived at 12:35 a.m. and found the woman in the street at Cary Street and Worthington Drive, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds.

The woman was taken to the Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford.

Residents say they saw deputies searching by helicopter and on the ground for Pallasch.

"A bunch of cops. They were standing over there with dogs too," Quincoces said.

"I seen three officers walking with assault rifles," neighbor Irving Fenner said.

Around 1 a.m. a shot was fired in the direction of the deputies while they were searching for the suspect.

Traffic in the neighborhood was blocked and residents in the surrounding homes were warned to stay inside. Deputies also evacuated two nearby homes for their safety.

"They were telling people to go back into their houses on the loud speaker, " Fenner said.

Deputies said they found Pallasch at 6:08 a.m Sunday, in a wooded area adjacent to his residence on Michael Avenue dead from a self-inflicted gunshot would. A shotgun was found on the ground beside the body. 

At last report, the victim was undergoing surgery at the hospital and was listed in critical condition.


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