UPDATE: Victim, suspect identified in Walmart shooting

Carli Cronin, 30, died after being shot. The suspect, David Johnson, 54, is in critical condition after reportedly shooting himself.

OCALA — A woman was shot and killed during a domestic dispute Saturday afternoon at the Walmart in east Ocala, and the suspected shooter was later found at home in critical condition after he apparently shot himself, authorities said.

Just before 3 p.m., the woman was put into an ambulance outside the store, 4980 E. Silver Springs Blvd., and then transported to a local hospital. At 3:20 p.m., authorities confirmed that the woman had died.

After the Walmart incident, the alleged shooter went to a residence less than five miles from the store and remained inside the house as Marion County Sheriff's deputies surrounded the building at 6005 NE 35th St. and waited until the Ocala SWAT team arrived. In the meantime, law enforcement officials evacuated residents of nearby homes as a precaution. Once the SWAT team arrived, they entered the home and found the man with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he remained in critical condition. Ocala police officials obtained a search warrant for the residence and recovered a firearm and clothing shortly before 10 p.m.

Officers identified the dead woman as 30-year-old Carli Cronin; the shooter was identified as David Johnson, 54.

After transporting Cronin from the Walmart to the hospital, Ocala Fire Rescue personnel returned to the store after receiving calls about people at the scene suffering from stress after the incident. They identified three people; two were treated at the scene for stress, and a third, who was injured during evacuations of the store, was take to a local hospital for treatment.

According to Ocala Police, Johnson and Cronin knew each other. They were engaged in a physical dispute near the Walmart garden section Saturday afternoon, and Cronin screamed for help. A clerk intervened and called 911; that is when the shots were fired.

Scotty Ballard told the Star-Banner that he has known Cronin for about a year and a half and was her roommate. He said Cronin and Johnson dated for about nine months but were currently apart.

Ballard said Johnson and Cronin had been arguing all day Saturday because he wanted to get back together, but she did not.

During those arguments, Johnson threatened Cronin several times and at one point said he was “coming strapped” for her, Ballard said.

Ballard and Cronin went to Walmart to buy furnishings for their apartment. He said he was an aisle away when the shooting happened.

So was Colleen Wade. She said she was shopping inside the store, walking toward the garden area, when she heard a crashing sound. Wade said she turned down an aisle and saw a man standing over a woman and firing several times at her.

After the shots were fired, the man calmly exited the store. When Wade went outside, she said, she saw him riding away on a bicycle.

Several people who were in the store told the Star-Banner that they heard what they thought was a loud crashing noise, followed by loud pops. The sounds heard by the customers were gunshots.

Johnson's family members gathered at Ocala Regional Medical Center on Saturday evening.

Kenneth Johnson told the Star-Banner that his brother was turning his life around, adding that "he's not this monster, but a man with a broken heart."

He said his brother thought the victim "was the true love of his life.

"He had his own business, handyman, lawn and pressure washing," the man said about his brother.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.

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