Police: Woman shot dead at Florida Walmart in domestic dispute

Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A woman died after being shot by a man during a domestic dispute Saturday afternoon in Ocala, Fla., police said.

The suspect, a 55-year-old black male, was transported to a local hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot and is in cust of Ocala Police Department, according to a post on Twitter. Ocala is 80 miles northwest of Orlando.

The unidentified woman was taken by ambulance just before 3 p.m. to a local hospital but died shortly later.

The shooter and woman knew each other, and had been in a physical dispute near the Walmart garden section, police said. The woman screamed for help and as a clerk called 911, shots were fired.

The man fled the scene and was temporarily at large, police said.

No other people were injured.

The victim and the gunman dated for about nine months but were currently not a couple, according to Scotty Ballard.

He told the Star-Banner that the victim was a roommate and they went to Walmart to buy furnishings for their apartment. The estranged couple had been arguing all day, and the roommate was one aisle away when the shooting occured.

Another customer, Colleen Wade, told the newspaper she saw a man standing over a woman and firing several times at her.