May 31, 2024
On May 30, 2024 shortly after 4:00 p.m. multiple 911 calls reporting a stabbing were received by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division. Deputies were dispatched to the area of SE 132 Court in Morriston where they were told a known suspect attacked two people at their home, inflicting multiple stab and slash wounds.
The victim(s) told deputies the suspect had been to their home before and borrowed their phone to make a call and were able to provide his name. Other than this, they did not know him. The victims were able to escape the attacker and fled to neighbors’ homes nearby. The suspect fled prior to law enforcement’s arrival.
Deputies received a second report from a nearby home and upon arrival found two more individuals suffering from blunt force object wounds inflicted by weapons of opportunity. The suspect, also known to these victims had fled this location.
The suspect, Justin R. Byrant (6/29/88) of Morriston was located by deputies and Williston Police Department Officers in a wooded area nearby one of the victim’s homes and taken into custody. The motive for these apparent random and violent attacks is still under investigation. All four victims have been taken to nearby trauma units and are being treated. Their current conditions are reported as stable.
Detectives have determined that Bryant was known to all four victims and had been “hanging out” with two of them earlier in the day. Detectives pieced together Bryant’s activities earlier that day and discovered that he took a vehicle from a known associate. He drove this vehicle to a home in Levy County where he abandoned it and stole a truck. He then drove the truck to another home approximately one mile away and attempted to steal a side by side. This theft was unsuccessful and he apparently walked away.
This was a large crime scene with eight separate locations that required extensive coordination between law enforcement, Levy County Department of Public Safety, Williston Police Department and ShandsCair. This cooperative effort enabled rapid care for the victim(s) and quick apprehension of the suspect.
Bryant has been booked into the Levy County Detention Center where he is charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated battery and burglary of a dwelling. Additional charges are expected to be filed.