Police said they arrested the 76-year-old woman after she killed her terminally ill 77-year-old husband in a hospital in Daytona Beach, FloridaSaturday, within murder and suicide pact what the couple did a few weeks before. The event created hospital shooting alarm.
The victim was identified as Jerry Gilland, 77, and it was confirmed that the shooter was his wife, Ellen Gilland, 76. No one else was injured as a result of the incident.
The woman could be charged with first-degree murder.
“Apparently because he was terminally ill, they discussed it and actually planned it about three weeks ago if he got worse,” Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told a news conference. “He wanted her to end it.”
Authorities received a shooting alert on the 11th floor of Advent Health in Daytona Beach around 11:45 a.m. Saturday.
After the 76-year-old woman shot her 77-year-old husband in the head, hostage negotiators spoke to the woman, police said. They talked to her until 3:00 pm when they managed to detain her after they used a stun grenade to distract her.
Authorities said they did not know how the woman was able to smuggle a gun into the hospital. The police chief said she did not threaten hospital staff or other patients.
During negotiations, authorities learned that the original plan called for the husband to shoot himself and his wife, whom Young described as “in a state of depression”. Nevertheless, the wife took over after they realized he was too weak to do it himself.
“Initially, I think the plan was a murder-suicide,” Young said. “So she killed him and was going to shoot herself, but she couldn’t.”
Authorities partially evacuated other patients to the 11th floor, which is normally reserved for the terminally ill. The woman will be transferred to the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach.
Yang told reporters that such incidents unfortunately happen frequently, especially during the holiday season.
“It’s a tragic circumstance,” Young said. “It just goes to show that none of us are immune to the trials and tribulations of life.”
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