Murder at Lexington Green

From the Associated Press:

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A man was shot and killed Thursday in the parking lot of a busy shopping area, and the suspected gunman held police at bay for hours outside a nearby hospital before surrendering.

Witnesses told police the suspect appeared to know the man killed in the parking lot of a bookstore at the Lexington Green shopping plaza. Police wouldn't discuss further what led up to the afternoon shooting and declined to say how many shots were fired.

Toby Ray Lasure, 31, of Lexington, was charged with murder in the shooting and also will face further charges related to a chase afterwards, police spokeswoman Ann Gutierrez said.

The Fayette County Coroner's office identified the victim as Christopher Tolliver, 31, of Lexington. He was pronounced dead at University of Kentucky Hospital.

Gutierrez said after police arrived, the suspect fled in his car to the parking lot of a mental health facility about six miles away. He was holding a gun to his head while talking to negotiators on a cell phone but surrendered after a three-hour standoff, Gutierrez said. The hospital was put on lockdown for several hours.

Actor William Shatner, who owns a farm in central Kentucky, happened to be shopping at the bookstore when the shooting occurred.

"My car is here, that's all I know," he told the Lexington Herald-Leader. "I just want to get my car and go home. It happens where I come from; it doesn't happen here."