A manager was wounded after discovering two women inside a rented unit during Saturday morning rounds, according to Brevard County authorities.
PALM BAY, Fla. — What began as a storage facility manager’s routine morning rounds escalated into gunfire Saturday after she found two women sleeping inside a rented unit and told them they could not remain there, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
The confrontation left the manager with a gunshot wound that authorities said was not life-threatening and prompted a search for the people who had been inside the unit. Investigators later identified Kandice Jo Pierce, the woman who had recently rented the space, as the suspected shooter. Palm Bay police subsequently took Pierce into custody without incident.
Sheriff Wayne Ivey said the incident began around 10 a.m. at a Public Storage facility on Babcock Street near Palm Bay Road. The manager encountered two women sleeping in one of the storage units while making her rounds and told them that sleeping in the units was not allowed.
Authorities said someone inside the unit then fired two rounds. One bullet struck the manager and a second missed. The sheriff’s office said investigators believed a small-caliber handgun was used.
Despite being wounded, the manager was able to flee the immediate area, find cover and barricade herself, according to Ivey. The two women left the facility. Deputies and other officers responded as investigators began trying to identify who had fired the shots and where the women had gone.
The identity of the unit renter alone was not enough to immediately establish who fired the gun. Authorities said another adult woman had been inside the unit, and investigators needed to locate her before determining which person possessed the weapon and allegedly shot the manager.
The sheriff’s office later identified Pierce as the suspected shooter. Before her arrest, investigators said she had last been seen on surveillance video at a RaceTrac on Palm Bay Road and warned that she should be considered armed and dangerous. Authorities asked the public not to approach her.
Investigators said they were working with the Brevard County State Attorney’s Office on an attempted first-degree murder warrant related to the shooting. The sheriff’s office also said Pierce was wanted on an arson warrant stemming from an unrelated case. The circumstances of that separate case were not detailed in the initial reports about the storage facility shooting.
Palm Bay police eventually located Pierce and took her into custody without incident, according to authorities. The manager’s name has not been publicly released, and investigators have not announced a motive beyond the confrontation that began after the two women were found sleeping in the storage unit.
The shooting remains under investigation. Any criminal allegations against Pierce are accusations, and guilt would have to be established through the court process.
Author note: Last updated October 12, 2026.