The son of a man who was killed by his machete-wielding neighbor says his father was able to fight back against his attacker in the driveway, giving his mother just enough time to crawl into their home and lock the door.
“He died saving my mom,” Mauricio Londono, 27, said. “He’s a hero.”
Amado Lago, 46, slashed the couple with a machete, killing Mauro Londono and leaving him in a pool of blood in the driveway of his suburban West Palm Beach home. Londono’s wife, Claudia Morales, 54, is expected to stay in the hospital until Sunday, according to Mauricio.
Deputies arrived at the home to find Lago in the driveway pacing, machete in hand, about 25 feet away from Mauro's body, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
When a deputy attended to Mauro's body, Lago lunged at the deputy with the machete.
The deputy shot and killed Lago, Bradshaw said.
It isn’t clear what sparked Lago’s attack, but Mauricio says Lago harassed his family for months.
“This was an ongoing problem,” Mauricio said. “We knew something was going to happen sooner or later. We never knew he’d come at him with a machete.”
Neighbors say the men argued that night about the Londono family’s dog, Zoey. Lago complained about the dog months ago, Mauricio said, but it’s not in his father’s character to argue with the neighbor.
“He was the most passive man you’d meet,” he said.
In the past when Lago complained about Zoey, Mauro would apologize profusely and avoid his neighbor, Mauricio said. Mauricio said Lago often got aggressive, threatening to fight the men in his family.
“He didn’t care about being a human being. He just sneaked up behind my parents and slashed them,” he said.
Police were notified after Morales triggered the house alarm crawling in through the door, Mauricio said.
The deputy involved in the shooting said he “took action” to save his own life and the lives of his partner and Morales, Bradshaw said.
Mauro was a well-known Realtor in the area, his son said. When he wasn’t working home sales, he was spending time with his wife, Mauricio and second son, Andres, 24.
“No matter what, the only thing he cared about was the family,” Mauricio said. Mauricio remembers family barbecues in the backyard and morning runs with his father.
“He was my role model,” he said. “He was somebody who shaped the type of person I am today.”
Mauricio and Andres plan to move back home to care for their mother following the attack. Morales is expected to undergo shoulder surgery sometime before Sunday, but is slowly returning to good health, Mauricio said.
“She’s a very lucky woman, the strongest woman that I know,” Mauricio said. “I don’t think a normal woman would survive, but she has recovered so well.”
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