Police say the 20-year-old defendant killed one man, wounded four others and carjacked a vehicle after gunfire broke out at an apartment community.
RIVIERA BEACH, FL — A 20-year-old man accused of killing one person and wounding four others in a Riviera Beach shooting stunned a Palm Beach County courtroom Wednesday when he told a judge, during his first appearance, that he shot all of the victims in the head.
The remarks came less than two days after gunfire tore through the Azure Estates community off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and spilled into what police described as a violent flight from the scene. Investigators have identified the defendant as Tramonte Terrell Gibson and said he faces a first-degree murder charge, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and a carjacking charge. The hearing drew immediate attention because Gibson shifted from confused, rambling comments about his mental state to an apparent admission in open court, adding a new and disturbing layer to a case already shaking this coastal city north of West Palm Beach.
Police said the shooting began about 6:15 p.m. Monday inside the Azure Estates complex, where Gibson had gone to visit his girlfriend. Riviera Beach Police Chief Michael Coleman said investigators believe Gibson entered a clubhouse area, felt threatened by people there and called his cousin to bring him a bag containing a gun. After getting the weapon, Coleman said, Gibson opened fire on people in front of him. One of those shot, 25-year-old John Richard Haliburton III, died. Police said Haliburton was Gibson’s cousin. Authorities said Gibson then ran from the scene toward Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where the violence continued. Officers were sent to the area after a ShotSpotter alert and 911 calls. By the time they arrived, police said, Gibson had moved into the street and was trying to get away. At Wednesday’s hearing, Gibson first told the judge that nobody had died. Moments later, he reversed himself and blurted out that he had shot the victims, leaving the courtroom silent as deputies stood nearby.
Investigators said three more people were shot as Gibson tried to steal vehicles during his escape. Coleman told reporters that Gibson first approached one sport utility vehicle, shot victims during that encounter and then forced his way into another vehicle before driving off. Police have not publicly released the names of the four surviving victims, but they said two were in critical condition and two others suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Local reporting identified one of the wounded men as Pastor James Easley of Life Center Church in Riviera Beach, though officials had not publicly given an updated medical report on him by Wednesday afternoon. Police also said Gibson was captured later Monday in St. Lucie County after officers and troopers located the vehicle linked to the case near Interstate 95 and Indrio Road. He was taken back to Palm Beach County for questioning and his first court appearance. During that hearing, Gibson made disjointed statements about seeing things and hearing things, while the judge ordered him held without bond.
The case has unsettled Riviera Beach not only because five people were shot in one burst of violence, but because of where it happened and how quickly it unfolded. Azure Estates sits along a major corridor in a city that has long wrestled with gun violence, economic strain and repeated calls from residents for stronger safety measures. This shooting began in a residential setting where people gathered Monday evening, then spilled onto a public roadway as drivers and bystanders were suddenly pulled into the chaos. Haliburton’s mother, Curtisa Brown, identified her son publicly after the shooting and said he had recently become a father to a baby girl who was about a month old. Her account added a stark human toll to a case that police had initially described in numbers: one dead, four wounded, one suspect on the run. Authorities have also said a large-capacity magazine was recovered in the investigation. Coleman said the weapon used in the shooting had an extended magazine capable of holding many rounds, a detail investigators believe helps explain how the attack spread so fast across multiple victims and locations.
Police have framed the case as both a homicide and a rapid-moving crime spree, and the legal path now appears likely to focus on Gibson’s state of mind as well as the sequence of the attack. Coleman said Gibson told investigators that voices or spirits were telling him to kill what he called demons. In court, Gibson made similar comments, saying he had been seeing things. Prosecutors have not suggested any reduction in the charges, and the judge denied bond at the first appearance. Under Florida procedure, the next steps are expected to include a formal review by the state attorney’s office, filing decisions on the full charging document if that has not already been completed, appointment or confirmation of defense counsel and future hearings on evidence, detention and possible mental health evaluations. It remains unclear whether Gibson will pursue an insanity defense or seek a competency evaluation, and no such ruling had been announced in open court by Wednesday. Investigators also had not publicly explained what, if any, relationship existed between Gibson and each surviving victim, beyond the allegation that Haliburton was his cousin and that others were caught in the shooting as Gibson fled.
For residents and relatives, the most jarring part of Wednesday’s hearing was how bluntly the case moved from police allegations to words from the defendant himself. A murder hearing that usually lasts only minutes became a flashpoint as Gibson spoke in a flat, erratic stream, at times denying the obvious and then admitting it. Outside court and back in Riviera Beach, grief was more measured but no less raw. Family members described Haliburton as a young father whose death left a fresh hole in a family now preparing for funerals and court dates at the same time. Police have continued asking witnesses to come forward as detectives work to pin down every movement inside the complex and on the roadway. The city was left with both the physical aftermath of the shooting and the emotional weight of hearing a suspect describe it in open court. What began Monday as another emergency call had, by Wednesday, become a public case marked by a single sentence that echoed far beyond the courtroom walls.
The case remained active Wednesday, with Gibson jailed without bond in Palm Beach County. Investigators are expected to keep interviewing witnesses and gathering forensic evidence as prosecutors prepare the next court filing in the days ahead.
Author note: Last updated March 18, 2026.