LATEST: Bodycam video shows police pleading with wife accused of killing husband in Daytona Beach hospitalA 76-year-old woman is behind bars in Volusia County after being accused of shooting and killing her terminally ill husband.Ellen Gilland faced a judge for the first time Sunday on several charges, including first-degree murder.She’s being held without bond.”Based upon the nature of the charge, Mrs. Gilland, I am going to hold you (on) no bond on the murder charge and the remaining charges and then you’ll be set for a future court date,” Judge Mary Jolley said.Gilland also faces three counts of aggravated assault.Daytona Beach police responded to the shooting at AdventHealth Daytona Beach Saturday morning.According to police, responding officers said Gilland shot her husband, 77-year-old Jerry Gilland, and confined herself to his room.He was the only patient in the room, according to police.”Upon arrival, our officers were directed to the 11th floor, where they encountered an elderly female who had apparently shot her terminally ill husband,” Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young said at a news conference. The Daytona Beach Police Department said an investigation revealed the couple, from New Smyrna Beach, planned this weeks ago.They say the pair made a pact to go through with a murder-suicide three weeks ago if the husband, who was terminally ill, continued to take a turn for the worse.”Apparently, because he was terminally ill, they had a conversation about it, and they actually planned this approximately three weeks ago that if he continued to take a turn for the worst that he wanted her to end this,” Young said. “Obviously, we’re unsure how she brought that gun into the hospital, but this was planned.”Police say the plan had been for the husband to do the shooting, but he was too weak.They got a call about the shooting around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and it took hostage negotiators hours before the woman was taken into custody.Meanwhile, the surrounding rooms had to be cleared in what police called a bit of a “logistical nightmare.””Because that 11th floor is made up of terminally ill patients, so pretty much all the patients on that floor are on ventilators,” Young said. He says they didn’t have room to evacuate the entire floor but says Gilland never left the room where the shooting happened.An affidavit revealed that Gilland pointed the firearm at multiple witnesses and demanded they get out of the room.”She never put the gun down, so she never specifically made a threat that she was going to shoot any of us, but she never put the gun down,” Young said. “So we would have to assume that, you know, if we were to rush in there, we didn’t effectively communicate that it could have turned into a shootout situation.”So they used a device to distract her so she’d drop the gun.”It’s called a flash bang that the SWAT team uses,” Young said. “They use it. It just makes a loud noise. It’s like a — pretty sure you’re familiar with that. So they threw in a flash bang to distract her, and luckily it worked.”When officers finally deployed a flash-bang device into the room, Gilland fired a shot into the ceiling.Around 3 p.m., after negotiation, she was taken into custody. “It’s a tough situation, so her husband (was) terminally ill, so she was already in a depressed state just based on her husband being terminally ill and knowing that the end was near,” Young said. Related video below: Florida Death with Dignity nonprofit founder hopes to introduce bill to assist terminally ill adults A doctor who was inside the hospital when the shooting happened says everyone is still pretty shaken up by the whole thing and trying to process what happened.”One of the staff came running in like clearly very agitated, saying this is not a drill,” Dr. Joshua Horenstein, a private practice cardiologist, said.Horenstein was on the ground floor, the hospital’s emergency department.He says at first, nurses got a code yellow alert.”We don’t really know — what do we do with a lockdown?” Horenstein said.Then a code silver came, which he says meant shelter in place.”At that point, we’re thinking it’s a little bit more serious but still not sure what to do,” Horenstein said.He and another nurse got into a supply closet and waited.After being cleared from sheltering, he says staff had to stay put on their floors for hours.”At some point, I went to the security guard because I still had 20 patients to see in the hospital, various floors to go around on that I hadn’t gotten to do, but it was just shut down,” Horenstein said.Many are wondering how a gun made it into a hospital.”Hospitals tend to be open, and they tend to have a lot of entrances and exits,” Ben Scaglione, a health care security expert, said.Scaglione has been in health care security for over 20 years and says screening hospital staff and visitors is usually a difficult and expensive process. “When you have a metal detector, you have to staff it,” Scaglione said. “Historically, hospitals have had them in the emergency department because that seems to be the most volatile area. In health care, generally, you train them (in) the same scenario — run, hide and fight.””It might’ve been nice to know if I got a shelter-in-place alarm like what I should’ve done because I’ve never personally – I don’t believe – maybe it was part of a video training I did 10 years ago, but nothing that strikes memory of what I was actually supposed to do,” Horenstein said.AdventHealth released a statement Saturday afternoon on the shooting:”We are devastated by the tragedy that unfolded at the AdventHealth Daytona Beach campus today, and our prayers are with those impacted. We are grateful for the Daytona Beach Police Department in helping ensure the safety of our patients, team members and visitors.”WESH 2 is still waiting to learn if the hospital had metal detectors and how the gun made it through into the hospital room.BELOW: Watch the full news conference with Daytona Beach police Top headlines: Suspect faces charges after Orange County shooting kills man, police say Volusia County drug activity investigation leads to 12 arrests Orlando police search for suspect in robbery, shooting that injured man
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —
LATEST: Bodycam video shows police pleading with wife accused of killing husband in Daytona Beach hospital
A 76-year-old woman is behind bars in Volusia County after being accused of shooting and killing her terminally ill husband.
Ellen Gilland faced a judge for the first time Sunday on several charges, including first-degree murder.
She’s being held without bond.
“Based upon the nature of the charge, Mrs. Gilland, I am going to hold you (on) no bond on the murder charge and the remaining charges and then you’ll be set for a future court date,” Judge Mary Jolley said.
Gilland also faces three counts of aggravated assault.
Daytona Beach police responded to the shooting at AdventHealth Daytona Beach Saturday morning.
According to police, responding officers said Gilland shot her husband, 77-year-old Jerry Gilland, and confined herself to his room.
He was the only patient in the room, according to police.
“Upon arrival, our officers were directed to the 11th floor, where they encountered an elderly female who had apparently shot her terminally ill husband,” Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young said at a news conference.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said an investigation revealed the couple, from New Smyrna Beach, planned this weeks ago.
They say the pair made a pact to go through with a murder-suicide three weeks ago if the husband, who was terminally ill, continued to take a turn for the worse.
“Apparently, because he was terminally ill, they had a conversation about it, and they actually planned this approximately three weeks ago that if he continued to take a turn for the worst that he wanted her to end this,” Young said. “Obviously, we’re unsure how she brought that gun into the hospital, but this was planned.”
Police say the plan had been for the husband to do the shooting, but he was too weak.
They got a call about the shooting around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and it took hostage negotiators hours before the woman was taken into custody.
Meanwhile, the surrounding rooms had to be cleared in what police called a bit of a “logistical nightmare.”
“Because that 11th floor is made up of terminally ill patients, so pretty much all the patients on that floor are on ventilators,” Young said.
He says they didn’t have room to evacuate the entire floor but says Gilland never left the room where the shooting happened.
An affidavit revealed that Gilland pointed the firearm at multiple witnesses and demanded they get out of the room.
“She never put the gun down, so she never specifically made a threat that she was going to shoot any of us, but she never put the gun down,” Young said. “So we would have to assume that, you know, if we were to rush in there, we didn’t effectively communicate that it could have turned into a shootout situation.”
So they used a device to distract her so she’d drop the gun.
“It’s called a flash bang that the SWAT team uses,” Young said. “They use it. It just makes a loud noise. It’s like a — pretty sure you’re familiar with that. So they threw in a flash bang to distract her, and luckily it worked.”
When officers finally deployed a flash-bang device into the room, Gilland fired a shot into the ceiling.
Around 3 p.m., after negotiation, she was taken into custody.
“It’s a tough situation, so her husband (was) terminally ill, so she was already in a depressed state just based on her husband being terminally ill and knowing that the end was near,” Young said.
Related video below: Florida Death with Dignity nonprofit founder hopes to introduce bill to assist terminally ill adults
A doctor who was inside the hospital when the shooting happened says everyone is still pretty shaken up by the whole thing and trying to process what happened.
“One of the staff came running in like clearly very agitated, saying this is not a drill,” Dr. Joshua Horenstein, a private practice cardiologist, said.
Horenstein was on the ground floor, the hospital’s emergency department.
He says at first, nurses got a code yellow alert.
“We don’t really know — what do we do with a lockdown?” Horenstein said.
Then a code silver came, which he says meant shelter in place.
“At that point, we’re thinking it’s a little bit more serious but still not sure what to do,” Horenstein said.
He and another nurse got into a supply closet and waited.
After being cleared from sheltering, he says staff had to stay put on their floors for hours.
“At some point, I went to the security guard because I still had 20 patients to see in the hospital, various floors to go around on that I hadn’t gotten to do, but it was just shut down,” Horenstein said.
Many are wondering how a gun made it into a hospital.
“Hospitals tend to be open, and they tend to have a lot of entrances and exits,” Ben Scaglione, a health care security expert, said.
Scaglione has been in health care security for over 20 years and says screening hospital staff and visitors is usually a difficult and expensive process.
“When you have a metal detector, you have to staff it,” Scaglione said. “Historically, hospitals have had them in the emergency department because that seems to be the most volatile area. In health care, generally, you train them (in) the same scenario — run, hide and fight.”
“It might’ve been nice to know if I got a shelter-in-place alarm like what I should’ve done because I’ve never personally – I don’t believe – maybe it was part of a video training I did 10 years ago, but nothing that strikes memory of what I was actually supposed to do,” Horenstein said.
AdventHealth released a statement Saturday afternoon on the shooting:
“We are devastated by the tragedy that unfolded at the AdventHealth Daytona Beach campus today, and our prayers are with those impacted. We are grateful for the Daytona Beach Police Department in helping ensure the safety of our patients, team members and visitors.”
WESH 2 is still waiting to learn if the hospital had metal detectors and how the gun made it through into the hospital room.
BELOW: Watch the full news conference with Daytona Beach police
Top headlines:
Comments are closed.