JUPITER, Fla. — A woman is recovering in a hospital after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said she was brutally raped and then shot in the back by her roommate.
Deputies said they responded to the Mallards Cove apartment complex in Jupiter at about 6 a.m. Tuesday after getting a call from Jose Malagon's nephew, who told them his uncle called him to say he had shot a girl and was going to kill her and then kill himself. The nephew reported hearing a woman crying for help in the background.
According to the arrest report, the woman, who has not been identified but was Malagon's roommate, came home to the apartment to find Malagon sitting on the couch with a gun.
She told detectives that Malagon said she was "ruining his life" because she wouldn't have sex with him. She said he then brutally raped her, shot her in the back, grabbed a beer and watched her bleed, telling her he "wasn't going to shoot her again" so he could "watch her suffer and die slowly."
Detectives said that's when he called his nephew, who called authorities, prompting a SWAT response that ended in Malagon's arrest.
Region N Palm Beach County
Man arrested after woman shot inside apartment near Jupiter
The victim was flown by medical helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera told WPTV she remains in critical but stable condition.
"I feel terrible for that woman," said Lauren Schramek, who lives in the Mallards Cove neighborhood.
Schramek said she was walking her dog that Tuesday morning when she saw all the commotion.
"A lot of people were walking around, walking their dogs, trying to see what happened," added another resident named Britney, who asked to go by her first name only. “It is pretty scary knowing that someone was shot, I live alone here and I don't want something like that to happen."
According to the report, the woman told detectives she and Malagon had no romantic relationship but that they met each other through a roommate finder service.
"That's a little frightening," said Britney.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office didn't know which roommate service it was, but WPTV contacted several to see what safety procedures are in place.
Some perform background checks on users to flag any history of violent behavior. Others vet each listing. Experts with Rent.com recommend conducting multiple interviews and requesting multiple references from any potential roommate before agreeing to share a living space.
"Good to know," said Britney. "You know, you just never know who you're inviting over."
Malagon had his first court appearance Wednesday morning and was ordered held without bond. He's facing charges of sexual battery with a firearm, false imprisonment and attempted murder.
