Brice, who killed three in Manatee County, opened fire on deputies after stop.
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Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells holds up a photo of Javontee Brice, who shot and killed three people in Manatee County, before being shot and killed after shooting at Hamilton County deputies early Tuesday morning. (COURTESY)
JASPER — A Manatee County triple murder suspect was shot and killed after opening fire on Hamilton County deputies early Tuesday morning.
After 28-year-old Javontee Brice shot and killed three people, including his mother and a cousin, in Manatee County on Monday night, Hamilton County deputies stopped Brice on his way to Georgia, where authorities believe he was planning to kill another woman.
According to Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells, Brice got out of his car in Jasper and opened fire on two deputies, who returned fire and killed him.
“I really want to praise those deputies from Hamilton County and Sheriff (Harrell) Reid for being on the lookout for this suspect and taking care of business,” Wells said during a Tuesday morning press conference about the murders.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy-involved shooting.
Reid said deputies spotted Brice on Interstate 75 and he pulled off at the Live Oak/Jasper exit and pulled into the Exxon gas station parking lot where the shooting took place around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The gas station was closed.
A woman — Breonna Monique Davis, according to the HCSO release — was traveling with Brice, although her relationship to the shooter is unknown, according to Wells. He said detectives were questioning her.
According to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office release, Brice’s murder spree began around 9:15 p.m. Monday at a Motel 6 in Bradenton where Brice’s 48-year-old mother was shot and killed.
Wells said Tuesday that Brice, who was armed with a revolver for all the shootings, entered the hotel room and told his mother he was sorry. When she asked what he had done, he proceeded to shoot her in front of his two juvenile sisters and his mother’s boyfriend.
Around 9:40 p.m., the MCSO release states, a 29-year-old woman was shot inside an SUV at a residence in Palmetto. Wells said the victim was Brice’s cousin who was leaving a cookout. She died about an hour later at a hospital.
The third shooting occurred around 10:04 p.m. in Bradenton where Brice shot and killed the partner of an ex-girlfriend, who was also present but was not injured.
“We don’t know motive,” Wells said. “We don’t know what set this man off. We don’t know why he chose to kill his loved one. We may never know.”
Witnesses at all three scenes told detectives that Brice was the shooter. Detectives also believed he was fleeing to Georgia with plans to kill another ex-girlfriend, putting out a Be On the Lookout for his vehicle, with HCSO deputies stopping him.
“The main focus for us is to save a life,” Wells said. “The main thing is we were able to save that ex-girlfriend from being shot and killed.”
Wells also said Brice originally planned to kill another ex-girlfriend as he went to the Palmetto Trace Apartments before 9 p.m. where he told an ex-girlfriend that he had to kill her. However, Brice’s sister was also at the apartment and talked Brice out of it.
“He seemed to have an agenda,” Wells said, adding authorities don’t know how his sister was able to talk him out of the first planned shooting. “He knew exactly who he wanted to kill and didn’t have a hard time locating them.”
The MCSO has not released the names of the victims. Wells said he first wanted to talk more with the family before doing so.
“This family is devastated,” he said. “This is going to be a very difficult thing for them to overcome.”