Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies arrest suspect in Bradford County triple murder at Shands ER
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Johnnie Bernard Brown, 46, was arrested at the UF Health Shands Emergency Room and charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after three bodies were found in a Lawtey home owned by Brown early this morning.
Bradford County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the home in Lawtey at 3:15 a.m. and found three deceased individuals: a 49-year-old woman, a 25-year-old woman, and a 27-year-old woman. Deputies learned that Brown owned the home; at the time, Brown was being treated for injuries sustained in the incident, including a laceration to his arm.
When asked about the incident, Brown reportedly said he had been arguing with the 49-year-old woman when the argument turned into a physical fight. He reportedly said the other two women joined in and came at him with knives, so he grabbed a gun and began firing at all three women; he said they all ran and he “went mad” and continued shooting at them, then stopped firing when the women entered the room where they were found.
Deputies reported finding three knives: one still held by the 27-year-old woman, one at the feet of the 49-year-old woman, and one near the door of the bedroom where the women were found.
Deputies also reported finding at least one bullet hole with a trajectory indicating that the bullet was fired from outside the bedroom and into the closed and locked bedroom door. The Medical Examiner reported that all three victims died from gunshot wounds that were not self-inflicted.
A fourth woman survived the incident and was treated at the hospital; several metallic fragments were reportedly removed from her shoulder.
At about 6:15 a.m., an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy went to the Shands ER, where Brown had been brought for medical treatment. After Brown was medically cleared, he was arrested and booked into the Alachua County Jail on the Bradford County charges.
Brown has no criminal history in Alachua County and only traffic cases in Bradford County. His first appearance, which will provide a more complete history, will be tomorrow.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Wow, triple murder! He will probably get a $10K bond, lol
Sound like self defense
Hmmm…sounds like self defense. But we don’t know the complete story. I hope he doesn’t go to jail for self defense.
May be self defense BUT why would 4 women come at him with knives in the middle of the night ? There is a lot more to this story.
That’s a heck of a argument.
Yall missed the part where he fired through the locked closed door where some victims were found. Doesnt sound like self defense to me….and a surviving 4th victim able to provide testimony.
This will be an interesting case. It sounds like what he did may have started out in self defense, but what will almost assuredly come to convict him is his shooting the women as they ran away and even shooting into a room they had locked themselves into. When he did that he went from self defense to, as he says himself “went mad” mode.
Wasn’t there a child in the home that called 911?
11 year old called multiple times… Sheriff reported on FB’s Bradford County Sheriffs page.
There’s the real victim.. this child should have been comfortably sleeping and getting rest for school the next day instead of having to call 911 at 3am because all of adults in the home can’t control their emotions.
So, even in Lawtey prison town, some folks want to act up? Or just can’t control themselves, pick one 🤡👹💩🍦🍦🍦D
Looks like a almost clear case of stand your ground, but there is more to the story that needs to be told by the survivor.