Three women killed in Bradenton, suspect dead in north Florida

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Manatee County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating a triple murder.

According to authorities, three women were shot and killed in Bradenton Monday night. The gunman, Javontee Brice, also is dead after a shootout with Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, Sheriff Rick Wells said the shootings appeared to be planned.

“He had an agenda. He knew exactly who he wanted to kill,” Wells said. Officials said he was trying to travel to Georgia after the Bradenton killings.

According to the Manatee authorities, deputies responded to a shooting at the Motel 6 at 9:15 p.m., 660 67th Street Circle East in Bradenton.

ABOVE: Watch Sheriff Rick Wells discuss the case at a news conference

When they arrived, they found a 48-year-old woman dead from a gunshot wound.

That woman has been identified as Brice’s mother.

Wells said the woman was shot three times with others, including juveniles, in the room.

At 9:40 pm, Manatee deputies were dispatched to another shooting in the 900 block of 26th Street Court East in Palmetto, where a 29-year-old female had been shot while sitting inside a parked SUV. That woman was identified as a cousin of Brice.

As deputies arrived, Palmetto Police officers were attempting lifesaving measures. She died about an hour later.

While investigating those cases, deputies received information that another shooting occurred shortly after 10 p.m. in Bradenton at 4800 55th Street West.

Officers were on that scene, and it was learned the same suspect shot an adult female victim before fleeing the area. She later died at a local hospital.

The Manatee Sheriff’s Office then issued a statewide notice on Brice’s vehicle, which was tracking to Hamilton County near the Florida-Georgia state line.

Authorities said Brice was killed at 1:30 a.m. after he fired shots at Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies. Wells said he has been in contact with that sheriff’s office and said their deputies were OK.

Manatee Homicide detectives learned that Brice was traveling to Georgia with the intent to kill another individual.

An investigation is ongoing and moreinformation is expected to be released at a later date.