A Florida man who allegedly went on a shooting rampage on Friday, killing three people, might have killed more had he not been accidentally struck by a truck, police told 10 News.
According to witnesses who spoke with the news station, George Mason III reportedly shot and killed Jannie Taylor, 81; Ralph Peyton, 29; and Tarasha Yata Townsend, 37. It remains unclear as to what sparked the shooting, but police told News 10 that Mason had a gun trained on his half brother, Gabriel Taylor, and even chased him around the outside of the house where the shooting began. Police would later find Taylor shot several times lying in a roadway.
"He didn't have to kill them people like that, he didn't have to kill that lady, he didn't have to kill none of them. They're all family," Linda Stanley told 10 News. Stanley said the victims and the alleged shooter all lived in the same home.
Brooksville Police Chief George Turner told the news station that while running away from the crime scene, Mason was hit by a truck. "We didn't have to worry about this guy going and shooting anyone else; we didn't have this big manhunt," he said.
Turner told the news station that Mason is in custody but remains in the hospital and is recovering from "two broken legs, a broken back and a broken neck, and that he could barely speak from the pain.
"You know, I don't know if we'll ever really know what happened. Only thing we can say for sure is all these folks knew each other … and luckily for us, it ends the threat. You know, [the driver] probably saved a lot of lives," Turner said.
Mason has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to 10 News.
Read more at 10 News.