A man killed two Dallas hospital workers over the weekend, opening fire after accusing his newly born girlfriend of infidelity, authorities say.
Jacqueline Pokuaa, 45, and Katie Flowers, 63, were killed in Saturday’s shooting at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, according to police and the Dallas County Coroner’s Office.
Authorities said Nestor Hernandez, 30, opened fire at around 11am on Saturday while in hospital for the birth of a baby by his girlfriend. Hernandez, who was on probation and was allowed to go to the hospital while wearing an electronic bracelet, was shot and injured by a police officer, authorities said.
“In my opinion, this is a failure of our criminal justice system,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference Monday. “A violent individual like him shouldn’t have been put on an electronic bracelet and should have stayed in prison.”
Hernandez was charged with capital murder, but it’s unclear on Monday if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. He was not on the inmates list at the Dallas County Jail and authorities said that after the shooting he was treated at Methodist Hospital and then taken to another medical school for further treatment.
Hernandez arrived at the hospital around 10:20 am to visit the laboring woman and began hitting her repeatedly in the head with a gun, Garcia said. According to an affidavit of the arrest warrant obtained by WFAA-TV, Hernandez was in hospital for the birth of the child and began hitting her girlfriend with the gun after accusing her of infidelity.
Hernandez then began making “troubling” phone calls and texting his family, told his girlfriend that they were both dead, and said “anyone who enters this room will die with us,” according to Dallas TV’s affidavit report. . He shot Pokuaa when she entered the room to deal with the woman, then shot Flowers after she looked around the room and heard gunfire, Garcia said.
Le sergent Robert Rangel, de la police de l’hôpital, a vu Flowers se faire tirer dessus, a appelé des renforts et s’est mis à abri à l’xtérieur de la pièce où Hernandez rechargeait son arme, a déclaré le Head. When Hernandez got out, Rangel shot him in the leg and, after a fight, the police took him into custody, Garcia said.
Garcia said the woman Hernandez hit was treated for her injuries and that a baby in the bedroom was unharmed. Police identified the two women killed as a nurse and a social worker, but did not say who was doing which job.
Hernandez was paroled from prison last October after being convicted of aggravated robbery, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez. She said he was given permission to stay with his “partner” in the hospital during delivery.
Authorities have not released information on how Hernandez ended up in possession of a gun while on probation for a criminal conviction. The Chief of Police of the Methodist Medical System, Glen Fowler, said on Monday that the hospital was not informed of his criminal history or that he was being monitored by an electronic bracelet.
“It’s not something we normally ask of a parent,” Fowler said. “It is an extremely horrible situation, out of the ordinary. I wish we had known, but it was not information that had been given to us in advance. “
Garcia said Hernandez was sentenced to eight years for aggravated robbery, served six before being released on probation last year. In March 2022 he was arrested for violation of probation, then in April he was released to his custody officer. In June, according to Garcia, Hernandez was arrested by police in suburban Dallas for another parole violation, taken to a county jail, then released into custody of Texas Jails, who released him in September with the bracelet. electronic device he wore during the shooting.
Dallas County records show Nestor Hernandez has been arrested multiple times since 2011, including on charges of aggravated robbery, burglary, and illegal possession of a firearm by a criminal.
The Dallas Police Department is investigating the shooting, which is also being investigated by the Texas Corrections System Inspector General’s Office.
