Ellenton Outlet Mall Shooting Arrest Made, Teen Wounded While Shopping: Sheriff

ELLENTON, FL — Deputies have arrested a Palmetto man in the Sunday afternoon shooting of an 18-year-old man at the Ellenton Premium Outlets, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Octavio Banos, 18, was taken into custody at his home Monday around 4:30 a.m. and charged with attempted murder, the sheriff’s office said.

The victim was shopping with a friend Sunday around 2:30 p.m. when he was approached by three men he knows. As he and his friend walked away from them, they began to argue with the victim. He was later approached by the men again, near the parking lot, and another argument started, according to MCSO.

During this confrontation, one of the suspects pulled out a gun and shot at the victim. Though the teen ran away from the gunfire, he was hit in the leg/groin area, MCSO said. The suspects got into a small, black car and drove away from the outlet mall.

EMS brought the victim, whose name is being withheld under Marsy’s Law, to Blake Medical Center, where he is in stable condition. He’s expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said.

The shooting was a targeted attack and an isolated incident, so there was no threat to shoppers, deputies said. While the motive of the shooting is unknown, the victim and the suspects have a history of not getting along.

Detectives have identified two of the three suspects in Sunday’s shooting. Several pieces of evidence were collected after deputies, with the assistance of SWAT, executed a search warrant at Banos’ Palmetto home. The car used in the crime was located at another home near the mall.

Additional arrests are expected, and the investigation remains ongoing, MCSO said.