LAWTEY, Fla. – It doesn’t happen here. It happens on TV.
That’s how Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith described a deadly triple shooting early Tuesday morning that rocked the tight-knit community of Lawtey.
Johnnie Bernard Brown, 46, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder for killing his 49-year-old wife and two adult stepdaughters, ages 25 and 27, the sheriff said. His wife’s 11-year-old granddaughter witnessed the shooting and was hit by bullet shrapnel.
“This morning, evil struck our county,” Smith told News4JAX. “The whole situation is just tragic.”
The 11-year-old is the one who called the police and gave them the address of the mobile home on Northeast 17th Avenue, west of U.S. 301 just outside the Lawtey city limit
“She’s a strong little young lady,” Smith said. “She’s so resilient but at the end of the day what long-term effects does this have on this child?”
The girl was treated at the hospital and released. So was Brown, who was found wandering around the front yard of the mobile home with cuts on his body after deputies responded to the girl’s 911 call.
Two deputies went with Brown to Shands UF Gainesville Hospital while investigators tried to sort out what happened.
After he was released from the hospital, he was charged in Alachua County with three counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for the 11-year-old. He will be returned to Bradford County.
“These are things we watch on TV. We come to our sanctuary here in Bradford County… so this is shocking. It has shocked a great, loving hard-working community,” Smith said.
Smith, who knows the family, said the girl was at the Sheriff’s Office as social workers tried to find a family member to take custody of her.
“I think she’s very resilient and she’s got plenty of people around her to love her through this process,” Smith said.
Domestic violence
Smith said while domestic violence incidents happen regularly, as in any community, it’s been years since their community has had a homicide, let alone a triple murder.
“It’s like an earthquake moving throughout our community because it is so shocking,” Smith said. “Not just one person, but three. Their lives were taken from them. And to us, it’s our job to make sure that individual is held accountable.”
He urged those in the community to speak up if they witness domestic violence.
“Nobody has the right to put their hands on anybody else in a relationship, period. And you shouldn’t have to live with that fear. If you’re in a relationship and that fear is there, you’re in the wrong relationship. Get out of it,” Sheriff Smith said. “But people got to speak up, do the right thing. And it’s not always easy. It’s not easy. When it’s your friend, it’s not easy. When it’s your brother or your sister, it’s not easy — because you don’t want to be labeled the bad person for telling. But you know what, they may be mad right now, but at the end of the day, one day, they’re going to thank you.”
Resources
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
County-by-county help:
Northeast Florida
Duval and Baker counties: Domestic Violence Services, Shelter, and Safety – Hubbard House
Clay County: Quigley House
St. Johns County: Betty Griffin Center – St. Johns County Support Services for Victims of Sexual & Domestic Abuse
Nassau County: Micah’s Place
Putnam County: Domestic violence center in Palatka (leeconleehouse.org)
Alachua, Bradford, Union counties: Peaceful Paths | Domestic Violence Agency | Gainesville
Southeast Georgia
Camden and Charlton counties: Camden House
Ware County: Magnolia House
Glynn County: Glynn Community Crisis Center
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
