A Florida man killed three women, including his mother, in a shooting spree before authorities tracked him down and fatally shot him.
Javontee Brice killed his mother, his cousin, and the new partner of an ex-girlfriend in an hour-long shooting spree on Monday before trying to leave the state, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said. Brice had a history of burglary and domestic assault, which involved strangulation, according to Wells.
The shooting spree began around 9pm when Brice went to an apartment in Palmetto where his sister and an ex-girlfriend were staying, according to Wells. There, Brice asked if he could take a shower. When his ex-girlfriend declined, he told her, “I have to kill you,” Wells said.
But Brice’s sister intervened, saving his ex-girlfriend.
“Somehow, the sister was able to talk him down and talk him out of shooting this ex-girlfriend,” Wells said. “She later told investigators that he was acting very strange, not really sure what was going on with him.”
The 28-year-old left the apartment and traveled to a Motel 6 in Bradenton where his mother and two sisters lived, along with the mom’s boyfriend.
Brice told his mom, “I’m sorry,” then fatally shot her three times, Wells said. Soon afterward, police received a call about the shooting.
He then went back to Palmetto around 9.45pm where he shot his 29-year-old cousin as she was getting into her car at a cookout, according to Wells. Authorities took her to a local hospital where she died an hour later.
A few minutes later, Brice arrived at another ex-girlfriend’s home, where she was staying with her new partner. The three got into an argument and Brice shot his ex-girlfriend’s new partner, killing her, according to Wells.
At this point, Brice left to target yet another ex-girlfriend in Georgia, Wells said. He was also posting on social media about the shooting, local outlet ABC 7 reports.
But on his way, deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office spotted him driving with another woman in his car near the state line. Wells did not provide further details on who the woman is but said investigators are speaking with her.
When the deputies pulled Brice over, he began shooting at them. The officers shot back, Wells said, killing Brice.
Brice’s family have been helpful to investigators, Wells said. However, officials still do not know his motive.
“It’ll be very important to get some more information on what he was thinking at the time, why he was acting in this manner,” Wells said. “He seemed to have an agenda, he knew exactly who he wanted to kill.”
“This is going to be a very difficult thing for [the family] to overcome, so we’re trying to give them that time that’s necessary to process all this information and work with us as closely as they can,” Wells continued.
