Man dies in shooting after killing three women, including his mother, officials say

BRADENTON – Detectives with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a triple homicide that left three women dead in Bradenton and Palmetto.

The sheriff’s office said the suspected shooter, 28-year-old Javontee Brice, is also dead after a shootout with police officers in northern Florida. Cops say Brice shot and killed his mother, a cousin and the partner of an ex-girlfriend late Monday night.

Shortly before the killings began, Brice went to the Palmetto Trace Apartments, where his sister and ex-girlfriend were, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

“He looked at the ex-girlfriend and said, ‘I have to kill you.’ Somehow the nurse managed to calm him down and talk him out of shooting his ex-girlfriend,” Wells said.

Wells said the nurse later told investigators that Brice was “acting very strange.” While there, according to Wells, Brice asked if he could take a shower, but they refused.

According to the sheriff’s office, Brice appeared to be posting updates as he murdered his loved ones in social media posts that had received thousands of likes, shares and comments on Facebook by Tuesday morning.

After leaving the Palmetto Apartments, Wells said, Brice went to a Motel 6 where his mother, her boyfriend and two little girls were staying.

Officials with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to a shooting at the Motel 6 at 660 67th St. Circle E. in Bradenton around 9:15 p.m. Monday. When they arrived, officers found a 48-year-old woman dead from a gunshot wound.

Witnesses told officers that Brice came to the motel, shot his mother for unknown reasons and then fled the area, possibly heading toward Georgia, a news release said.

“He walked into the hotel room, looked at the mother and said, ‘I’m sorry,'” Wells said.

“She asked, ‘What did you do?’ And he shot her three times in front of her boyfriend and the two young teenagers,” Wells said.

At 9:40 a.m., officers were dispatched to another shooting in the 900 block of 26th Street Court East in Palmetto, where a 29-year-old woman was reportedly shot while sitting in a parked SUV.

When officers arrived, Palmetto Police Department officers were attempting to save the woman’s life, but she died about an hour later.

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The sheriff’s office said witnesses again identified Brice as the shooter.

The victim, Wells said, was Brice’s cousin, who was at the Palmettos’ house for a barbecue. Wells said Brice shot his cousin as she got into her car to drive away.

While investigating these cases, officers received information about another shooting shortly after 10 p.m. in Bradenton, 4800 51st St. E.

When Bradenton Police officers arrived, they learned that Brice had shot an adult female before fleeing. The woman was taken to HCA Florida Blake Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The woman, Wells said, was the new partner of an ex-girlfriend.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office issued a statewide BOLO (Beware, Beware!) alert for Brice’s vehicle.

The sheriff’s office said several law enforcement agencies were involved in pursuing Brice into Hamilton County in northern Florida near the state line.

Investigators said they learned that Brice traveled to Georgia with the intent to kill another person. That person, Wells said at Tuesday’s news conference, may be another ex-girlfriend.

At around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, officers with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office stopped Brice. According to Wells, Brice got out of the car and began firing at the officers. In return, the officers shot Brice, Wells said.

According to Wells, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office officers were not injured in the shooting.

Wells said a woman was with Brice when he was stopped and possibly during all of the alleged incidents. At the Tuesday morning press conference, Wells said she was still being questioned by detectives.

“We don’t know what her relationship to him is at this time, but she was in the car when the shooting occurred,” Wells said.

Brice appeared to make several posts on Facebook around the time of the shooting on Monday.

“Pig I love you but you had to go,” posted an account named Scoota Brice at 10:05 p.m. Monday.

Several Facebook posts from people who knew Brice say “Scoota” was a nickname he often used. In another Facebook post from Brice’s account, he told a woman he loved her, but added, “See you in hell.”

Wells said Brice’s motive is still unknown. However, Wells added that officials are aware of the social media posts and said they will be “very important” in determining Brice’s motive.

“He seemed to have an agenda,” Wells said, adding, “He knew exactly who he wanted to kill and he had no problem tracking down the person.”

Wells said investigators will interview relatives to determine what Brice “might have been going through in the last few days” and to see if they can determine a motive. He also said the 911 calls and the names of the victims would likely be released in time, but added that he wants to be considerate of the families throughout the process.

“I just want to stress that this family is devastated. This is going to be very difficult for them to cope with,” Wells said.

Wells said the sheriff’s office will also review recent dispatch calls to see if there were any related to Brice that could give them clues about his mindset leading up to the shooting.

“We don’t know what caused this man to freak out. We don’t know why he chose to kill his loved ones. We may never know, but we will continue to investigate,” Wells said.

According to the sheriff’s office, several investigations are currently underway.