A 20-year-old woman has been fatally shot after a vehicle she was in “mistakenly” pulled into the wrong driveway, police have said.
In a news release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, a 65-year-old homeowner identified as Kevin D. Monahan killed 20-year-old Kaylin A. Gillis after shooting at a car that had pulled into the driveway of his home in Hebron, New York.
Authorities say that a preliminary investigation shows that “the vehicle the victim was in mistakenly pulled into the driveway at the Patterson Hill Road address”.
Gillis had been traveling with three friends. She was not the individual driving the vehicle.
Sheriff Jeff Murphy said at a press conference on Monday: “This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend’s house and ended up at this man’s house.”
Monahan fired two shots from his porch. Credit: Washington County Sheriff’s Office
Shortly after officers arrived at the address, Gillis was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office goes on to describe Monahan as being “uncooperative with the investigation”, stating that he “refused to exit his residence to speak with police”.
Several hours after the shooting, he was eventually taken into custody thanks to the assistance of the New York State Police Special Operation Response Team. Monahan has since been charged with second-degree murder.
He added that the young women pulled into the driveway “in error”.
“While they were leaving the residence, once they determine, they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch, [and] for whatever reason and fired two shots,” Murphy said. “One which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in.”
Gillis’ friends, Beth Palleschi and Nikki Thomas, have since launched a GoFundMe to help cover the costs attributed to the 20-year-old’s tragic death.
Credit: GoFundMe
In the fundraiser’s description, they write: “Kaylin just turned 20-years-old. She was traveling with friends when they mistakenly turned into the wrong driveway. As they were leaving in the vehicle, the homeowner opened fire upon their car and Kaylin was struck and killed.
“The dollars raised through this fund will go directly to the Gillis family for use toward Kaylin’s funeral expenses and any immediate financial needs.”
As of this writing, over $42,000 has been raised of the $50,000 target.
