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Stabbings

Tallahassee stabbing suspect said he 'wigged out' and stabbed 'everything in front of him,' police say

Karl Etters Jeff Burlew
Tallahassee Democrat

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The employee of a construction materials company, accused of stabbing five people at his workplace Wednesday morning, called his pastor to ask for forgiveness minutes before the rampage, according to police.

Late Wednesday, police released details of the violent incident at Dyke Industries.

Antwann Demetris Brown, 41, was arrested on five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault.

Four of the people who were hospitalized were co-workers. One – a stranger to Brown – was stabbed in the parking lot.

In the 13 minutes after he was asked by supervisors to clock out at 8:20 a.m. after an argument, Brown allegedly struck dozens of knife blows as he moved between Dyke’s offices and a warehouse.

Brown in good spirits before attack 

As he rode to work with a fellow employee, Brown was in good spirits, chatting about sports. Shortly after punching in at around 8 a.m., he overheard his supervisor talking in code about having to fire him, according to police. 

A verbal argument ensued, and Brown motioned to his pocket. The supervisor, fearing he had a weapon, armed himself with a piece of wood and ordered Brown to leave the building. 

Tallahassee stabbing:'Baby, I've been stabbed 5 times': Suspect named in 'massive' stabbing

Brown walked outside after he was told he couldn't use a phone in the main office.

In the parking lot, Brown dialed up his pastor. He begged over the phone for forgiveness and prayer. The concerned pastor, who is identified in the police report as D. Harris, called 911 to report the conversation.

According to the arrest warrant, Brown contradicted the pastor's statements, telling investigators he called Harris to confront him "because his soul was evil."

Brown, when questioned by police, said he’d been diagnosed with two mental illnesses but had been unable to access his medications since March. He sought out particular victims who had “wronged” him, according to court records.

“Brown described how he entered a dark place and ‘wigged out’ and began to stab everything in front of him,” police wrote in their report. “Brown told us he was able to see the demons in the persons who he stabbed. Brown provided some details of how the persons he stabbed had wronged either him or previous employees.”

After his first court appearance Thursday morning, Brown is being held at the Leon County Detention Facility without bail.

"This court has great concerns for the safety of our community," said Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson. "The court is going to hold you no bond."

Police: Brown capable of decision-making 

After allegedly stabbing a man in the parking lot at Dyke, Brown walked back inside the building and continued stabbing co-workers, according to police.

An 8:33 a.m., a caller to the Consolidated Dispatch Agency reported Brown was “stabbing everyone.” He was arrested about five minutes later with dried blood on his hands, fingernails and shirt.

Antwann Brown, the man accused of stabbing five people at Dyke Industries on Sept. 11, 2019, made his first court appearance Sept. 12 in Leon County, Fla.

Several people in the office witnessed the stabbings.

One victim in critical condition suffered two collapsed lungs. Several were stabbed multiple times. One was stabbed 20 times. 

Brown allegedly told one victim, “I’m going to spare you this time,” which police said demonstrated his ability to make decisions.

When police entered the business, they followed several blood trails to larger pools throughout the building.

In the parking lot, officers found a common pocket knife they suspected was used in the rampage.

What we know about Antwann Brown

Brown has a history of arrests and convictions on drug and other charges in Bay County dating back to the mid-1990s, according to court records. In 1999, he was sentenced to five years in prison for dealing drugs near a school, selling counterfeit drugs and grand theft, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. In 2006, he was sentenced to four years for selling marijuana, and in 2007, he got an additional 14 months for possession of marijuana. He was released from prison in 2009.

He was charged with domestic battery in 2006 and 2014, but both cases were dropped by prosecutors. The reason was not clear from court records.

On the night of June 21, Brown called the Consolidated Dispatch Agency to complain about a woman who wouldn’t leave his home at The Dwellings, one of the nation’s first “tiny house” communities. The woman complained that Brown had her cellphone and wouldn’t give it back, according to Leon County Sheriff’s Office dispatch notes. Eventually, he returned the phone, and she left with her belongings. 

Antwann Brown told police he was in "a dark place."

There was no physical violence reported as part of the incident, said Dave Teems, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. No one was arrested, and no report was taken.

“It was considered to be civil in nature,” Teems said, and deputies gave Brown advice about small claims court.

Nick Kelly, one of Brown’s neighbors, said he and others watched one night this summer as Brown and a young woman got into a loud argument in the courtyard.

“She was out here telling him that she didn’t have to put up with this kind of stuff and she was leaving,” Kelly said, adding the woman told him, “You can’t put your hands on me.”

The Tallahassee (Florida) Police Department responded to a call about multiple stabbings at Dyke Industries on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019.

He said Brown kept to himself and didn’t socialize much with others.

“He didn’t interact with the rest of the community,” Kelly said. “He didn’t go over and eat with us at our meeting hall where we have our meals, and he didn’t interact with any of the individuals here at the facility.”

Monique Ellsworth, CEO of CESC, the parent company for The Dwellings and the Kearney Center, said Brown moved into The Dwellings this year and was not considered a problem.

“There was nothing suspicious in his behavior,” she said, adding he was not among residents known for disagreements or squabbles with neighbors. “He’s not on the list of individuals that we regularly check on because of interpersonal issues that they might be having.”

Ellsworth said The Dwellings doesn’t admit registered sex offenders or people with recent arrests involving drugs, assault or aggravated criminal activity. She said Brown’s criminal past did not rule him out as a resident.

Follow Karl Etters and Jeff Burlew on Twitter: @KarlEtters and @JeffBurlew

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