INVERNESS, Fla. — Citrus County deputies made an arrest in connection to a shooting at a Walmart parking lot that left one person hospitalized.
The sheriff's office said they got a call Monday night reporting a shooting at the supercenter location off of East Gulf to Lake Highway near the Citrus Wildlife Management Area. When deputies got to the scene, they learned that the suspected shooter had run off toward the Lowe's Home Improvement store on the other side of the plaza, according to a news release.
Officials deployed the agency's aviation unit to help locate the suspect, who they said was "quickly" found hiding in the woods behind the store.
Deputies then arrested 30-year-old Gavin Minden. He was later charged with two counts of attempted homicide and one count of shooting into an occupied conveyance.
During the investigation into what led up to the shooting, investigators obtained surveillance video that captured an interaction in the Walmart parking lot. The video allegedly shows a truck approaching a bus stop and then stopping near it. That's when Minden got into a "brief" argument with someone in the truck, according to the sheriff's office.
The agency said the shooting itself was not captured in the video, but the truck was seen speeding off while Minden ran away from the scene.
"Further investigation revealed that Minden, who knew the victims, shot through the back window of the truck, striking one victim in the back of the neck..." the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The victim was taken to a hospital and in stable condition as of Tuesday morning.
"I am proud of the teamwork between our deputies and Aviation Unit for swiftly locating and apprehending Minden, preventing him from further endangering our community," Sheriff Mike Prendergast said.
Minden was booked into the Citrus County Jail, with no bond set.