Vero Beach man shot at, sliced family member with machete, police say

Mary Helen Moore | Treasure Coast Newspapers

Show Caption Hide Caption Indian River Crime rate is on the rise - 2017 Statistics The Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported 3,341 murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts throughout the county, the seven crimes tracked by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That's up 7 percent from 2016. GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM

VERO BEACH — A man was charged with shooting at and cutting another man with a machete Tuesday, according to the Vero Beach Police Department.

Robert Joseph Fishman, 25, of the 90th block of North Harbor Drive, was staying with a relative and getting along fine until finances and Fishman's siblings came up during a midnight conversation, police said.

Fishman repeatedly told his relative he "hated him and wanted to kill him," according to his arrest affidavit.

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Fishman retrieved a loaded 9mm carbine rifle, stood 2 feet in front of him and fired a shot at the man's feet, police said. The man grabbed the rifle by the barrel and took it away, after which Fishman jumped in the canal behind the residence.

The relative pulled Fishman from the water, and they scuffled until Fishman got hold of an 18-inch machete. Fishman swung it at the man, cutting him on his calf, hand and neck before the man wrestled the blade away, according to the affidavit.

Fishman also stabbed the man's iPhone, causing it to explode, and shattered a shed window, police said. The damage was estimated to cost about $1,000.

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Investigators found a bullet hole in a bedroom floor and noticed several knife wounds on the man's body.

Fishman, who denied the incident, faces domestic violence charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery, along with criminal mischief and trespassing.

He was being held Friday in the Indian River County Jail in lieu of $76,500 bail.

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