PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A domestic shooting in Port St. Lucie that led to a police standoff over the weekend ended with a 70-year-old woman in a hospital and her 71-year-old husband in jail.
The plants and shrubs were perfectly manicured Monday in front of a well-kept home on Southeast Elrose Street, with a tennis court in the side yard. It's the handiwork of the woman who lives there.
Neighbors said she goes outside nearly every day to tend to them.
This near-picture-perfect scene is at odds with what happened there Friday night.
The woman's husband, Tarrant West, whom neighbors know as David, fired several shots at her inside the home, Port St. Lucie police said.
Five struck the woman in the torso and the arm. She ran to a neighbor, who found her on the ground and called 911.
Police quickly surrounded the area, calling for West to surrender.
"Our SWAT team, using different techniques and equipment, were able to safely approach the house, make the announcements and he came out without incident," Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro said, adding that West claimed he was resting after the incident and didn't realize police were outside his home.
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Del Toro said officers had been to the residence once earlier in the month, but there were no allegations of violence.
According to the arrest affidavit, there were two different stories from West and his wife.
West told police that, during the argument, he got his gun and gave it to his wife, who he claimed wanted to kill herself and admitted to sleeping with two other men. Upon hearing that, West claimed, the gun went off.
According to the victim, West accused her of having a relationship with someone from her church and punched her in the head. The wife retreated to a walk-in closet in the master bedroom and shut the door because she did not want the neighbors to hear any arguing.
The report said West then barged into the closet and shot her.
Police said the woman was expected to survive.
One neighbor told WPTV that West's wife is one of the sweetest, kindest people, but added that West could be abrupt and aggressive with neighbors at times.
West faces several criminal charges, including attempted homicide, five counts of aggravated battery and simple battery. He was being held in the St. Lucie County jail.
