Authorities say Kandice Jo Pierce was taken into custody after a storage manager was wounded during a confrontation Saturday.
PALM BAY, Fla. — A woman accused of shooting a storage facility manager after being told she could not sleep inside a rented unit has been taken into custody, authorities said, ending a search that began after the manager was wounded Saturday morning.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman as Kandice Jo Pierce after investigators worked to determine which of two women inside the storage unit had fired the gun. Palm Bay police later located Pierce and took her into custody without incident, according to updates from authorities. The manager’s injuries were described as not life-threatening.
The shooting happened around 10 a.m. Saturday at a Public Storage facility on Babcock Street near Palm Bay Road. Sheriff Wayne Ivey said the manager was making morning rounds when she found two women sleeping inside one of the units. One of the women had recently rented the unit.
According to Ivey, the manager told the women they could not sleep inside the storage unit. Authorities said two shots were then fired. One struck the manager and the other missed. Investigators said the firearm appeared to be a small-caliber handgun.
The manager was able to get away, find cover and barricade herself after being wounded, Ivey said. The two women left the area before deputies arrived. Authorities initially said there was no apparent broader threat to the community, although investigators began searching for the people involved.
Deputies later said they identified Pierce as the suspected shooter after locating the second woman who had been inside the unit. Investigators had known who rented the unit but said they needed additional information to establish who was carrying the firearm and who fired at the manager.
Before Pierce was taken into custody, the sheriff’s office described her as armed and dangerous and said she had been seen on surveillance video at a RaceTrac on Palm Bay Road. Investigators said they were working with the Brevard County State Attorney’s Office on an attempted first-degree murder warrant related to the storage facility shooting. Authorities also said Pierce was wanted on an arson warrant in an unrelated case.
The sheriff’s office has not publicly identified the wounded manager. Authorities also have not released a detailed account of what Pierce allegedly said or did immediately before the shots were fired beyond the confrontation over sleeping inside the unit.
Pierce’s arrest does not establish guilt, and the criminal allegations will be subject to the court process. The investigation into the shooting and the circumstances surrounding it remains ongoing.
Author note: Last updated October 12, 2026.