A Florida woman has been arrested after a planned child custody exchange turned violent outside a Walgreens on Christmas Day, reports Law & Crime. The incident left the baby’s father injured and another woman shot dead.
Amanda Marie Janzen, 38, who is a mother of five, is facing charges of premeditated murder and child neglect, according to court records. Janzen and the male victim have an 11-month-old child together. A family court had ordered them to split custody, and Janzen was supposed to hand over the child in front of a Walgreens store.
On the day of the exchange, Janzen allegedly arrived at the pharmacy with all five of her children in the vehicle. Before the exchange, she allegedly gave her oldest son her SNAP benefits card, debit card, and instructions to pay a cellular phone bill. The boy allegedly said he
“had never done this before,”
according to the arrest report.
Janzen arrived at the scene first and reportedly pulled out a gun from her bag while sitting in her vehicle. She
“cocked”
the gun and waited. When the couple arrived, the baby’s father got out of his girlfriend’s vehicle, and Janzen, with the gun hidden behind her back, approached the woman who was still in the driver’s seat, and fired three shots, killing the female victim. Janzen then searched for the child’s father, who had jumped back into the passenger seat, shooting him three times as well. Janzen allegedly shouted,
“You made this happen,”
as she fired at him.
Suspect Flees The Scene
A nearby police officer heard the gunshots and witnessed Janzen’s car fleeing the scene. The officer began pursuing the vehicle, and soon other law enforcement officers joined in a 13-mile chase. During the pursuit, Janzen called 911 and admitted to the shooting, stating that she was being followed by the police. The arrest report states that all five children were still in the car, pleading for their mother to stop as she led officers on a high-speed chase exceeding 100 mph.
Currently, she is being held in the Alachua County Jail on a $2 million bond. A public defender has been appointed to represent her.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
