Manatee County – During a “killing spree,” a man is said to have shot and killed three women in Florida: his mother, his cousin, and the new partner of an ex-girlfriend.
Police say the suspect, Javontee Brice, 28, went to an apartment in Palmetto to find his sister and ex-girlfriend before the killings on Monday night. Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said this at a news conference.
“He turned to his ex-girlfriend and told her, ‘I have to kill you.'” He almost shot his ex-girlfriend, but his sister was able to calm him down and stop him,” Wells said. “She later told investigators that he was acting very strange.”
The sheriff said Wells then drove to a Motel 6 in Bradenton, where his mother, his two younger sisters, and the boyfriend of his mother were staying.
Around nine fifteen p.m., “he walked into that hotel room, looked at the mother and said, ‘I’m sorry,'” Wells said.
“She asked, ‘What did you do?'” “And he shoots her three times in front of her boyfriend and these two stupid kids,” Wells said.
The sheriff said Brice then drove to Palmetto to a house where one of his cousins was having a big party. Around 9:40 p.m., Wells is said to have shot his cousin as she was getting into her car to leave. After about an hour, the cousin, who was 29 years old, died, the sheriff said.
Police say Brice then went to a house in Bradenton where another ex-girlfriend lived with her new boyfriend. For about 10:04 p.m., Wells said Brice shot and killed the new partner.
The sheriff’s office said it sent out a “Be On the Lookout” alert for Brice’s car across the whole state. It was later found in Hamilton County, close to the border with Georgia.
Wells said that the police heard that Brice “possibly has another ex-girlfriend” in Georgia and that he may have been driving there to kill her.
Around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, police in Hamilton County pulled Brice over. Wells said Brice got out of the car and began shooting at the police.
Wells said that the police shot back and killed Brice.
The woman who was with Brice when he was pulled over is being questioned by the sheriff.
“We don’t know her relation to him at this point, but she was in the car when the shootout took place,” he said.
Wells said that Brice’s family is “devastated” by the deaths of his mother and cousin. However, detectives want to talk to his family to find out what Brice “may have been going through the last few days.”
“He seemed to have an agenda; he knew exactly who he wanted to kill and he did not have a hard time locating them,” he said.
“We have no idea what made this man angry.” “We don’t know why he killed his family and friends,” the sheriff said. “We may never know, but we’re going to continue to investigate.”
Source: ABC News
