Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Brandy Alexis McLaughlin, 56, of Hollywood, Florida, was arrested this afternoon after allegedly firing at least eight shots during a multi-hour stand-off that required the evacuation of numerous businesses in Butler Plaza.

At about 7:49 a.m., a call was received from McLaughlin, who said she had accidentally discharged her firearm in reference to an act of vandalism; she reportedly said she had a gas can and there would be trouble if anyone fired at her.

When Gainesville Police Department officers arrived, Gainesville Fire Rescue firefighters told them they’d heard two shots coming from McLaughlin’s utility trailer, parked in the Walmart parking lot.

Officers made contact with McLaughlin by telephone and asked her multiple times to come out of the trailer so they could speak with her. She reportedly refused and made demands each time in exchange for coming out. She reportedly wanted officers to walk up to her trailer and also requested pictures that showed where officers were stationed “to determine whether [officers were] too close to her trailer.” During these calls, she reportedly said she had propane tanks, a loaded AR-15 rifle, and two handguns.

At about 9:07 a.m., McLaughlin allegedly fired another round, but officers were not able to determine where the round was aimed. McLaughlin also allegedly pointed a gun at officers several times during the negotiations.

Another round was fired at 9:15 a.m., and more rounds were reportedly fired at 11:45 a.m., 11:57 a.m., 11:58 a.m., and 11:59 a.m.

The arresting officer reported that each gunshot placed numerous people in danger, including the original responding officers, Walmart customers, people driving by, and additional law enforcement and emergency response teams.

The arresting officer reported that McLaughlin “seemed to be suffering from audio and visual exclusions. [She] seemed at times to be talking to people that were not there and was also seeing people that were not there.” This reportedly hampered attempts to resolve the situation.

She was eventually taken into custody peacefully at about 1:50 p.m.

McLaughlin has been charged with nine counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, ten counts of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, resisting an officer without violence, and discharging a firearm in public.

Her bail will be set tomorrow, and her criminal history will be available on Monday.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.