DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 76-year-old woman was arrested after fatally shooting her 77-year-old terminally ill husband inside his hospital room Saturday morning, according to an update from the Daytona Beach Police Department.
Ellen Gilland was arrested after she reportedly barricaded herself inside her husband's hospital room for four hours following the shooting.
The shooting, which happened at Advent Health Hospital located at Medical Memorial Parkway, happened around 11:30 a.m., but Gilland didn't leave the room until about 3:30 p.m. after negotiating with law enforcement, according to WKMG.
The New Smyrna Beach couple planned a murder-suicide three weeks ago because of her husband's illness, but Gilland couldn't go through with it, WKMG reported.
“The goal was for him to do it, but he did not have the strength, so she had to carry it out for him,” Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said.
No one else was injured in the shooting, according to a news release. Authorities said they had to evacuate all staff and patients from around the area, which was challenging since that particular floor is dedicated to terminally ill patients.
“This was somewhat of a logistical nightmare which is why I’m very proud of my team, because that 11th floor is made up of terminally ill patients, so pretty much all the patients on that floor are on ventilators so they didn’t have the room to evacuate that entire floor, so they evacuated the rooms where it was the most important to get them out of the way,” Young said.
The New York Times said police had to use a flash-bang device, which typically produces a bright flash and a loud noise, to distract Gilland. Officers also used a bean bag gun to help take her into custody, Chief Young said.
Gilland faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.