KY Man Targeted FL Vacationers In Shooting, Kidnapping, Police Say

SARASOTA, FL — A Kentucky man faces multiple charges after a weekend shooting at a gathering of vacationers in Sarasota, authorities said.

Tobias A. McDonald, 31, of Lexington was arrested Sunday and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping (domestic) and two additional kidnapping charges, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Deputies responded to a reported shooting around the 6400 block of Beechwood Avenue.

Several people at the home, some who knew McDonald, had traveled to Sarasota for vacation, the sheriff’s office said.

He showed up unannounced and confronted people who were outside the home, demanding that they find Meghan Lynch, also of Lexington, Kentucky, for him.

When he went inside the home, McDonald fired a shot, injuring Ishmael Stipp, also of Lexington, and left with Lynch in the car, the sheriff’s office said.

With help from the Florida Highway Patrol and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, McDonald was taken into custody without incident.

He is in custody at the Sarasota County Correctional Facility.

Lynch was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.