A 38-year-old woman who allegedly shot and killed a woman and injured a man on Monday at a Gainesville Walgreens is in custody.
According to a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) arrest report, Amanda Janzen, 38, was arrested on two counts of premeditated murder and five counts of child neglect after shooting and killing a woman and wounding a man on Monday.
The incident happened at the Walgreens store at the intersection of NW 13th Street and NW 39th Avenue (3900 NW 13th St.) around 2 p.m. when Janzen went to meet for a child custody exchange with the male victim.
The report stated Janzen, who drove from Alachua to the Walgreens parking lot, was to meet with the male victim to turn the 11-month-old baby over on Christmas Day. A recent court order on Dec. 20 said Janzen and the baby’s father were to share custody 50/50.
Janzen arrived at the parking lot first followed by the victims, who were in the female victim’s car. The male victim got out of the car and then Janzen exited her vehicle with a gun hidden behind her back. She then walked to the driver’s side of the victim’s car and shot the female victim three times and walked to the passenger’s side, where the male victim reportedly went back into the car, and Janzen allegedly shot him three times. The Walgreens’ surveillance video reportedly captured the incident.
The female victim died and the male victim’s condition has not been reported to the public, according to the GPD report.
After the shooting, Janzen drove northbound on NW 13th Street. A nearby GPD officer heard the gunshots and saw Janzen’s vehicle leaving Walgreens, leading to a pursuit that included GPD, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Department and the Alachua Police Department, that ended 13 miles later at the Taco Bell in Alachua. The pursuit speeds reportedly reached 100 miles per hour.
Janzen was arrested in the Taco Bell parking lot and an officer located her discarded firearm.
Janzen is being held in the Alachua County Jail on a $2 million bond.
Where was the baby during the shooting? Baby OK? Where is it now?
The police should never have chased the vehicle, at those speeds, with kids in the car.
Damn! I went to school with her first cousins and actually hung out as a teenager with them at her place various times. Of course that was almost 30 years ago but wow! Very sad for all involved, especially the children.