Dallas hospital shooter kills girlfriend after accusing girlfriend of cheating

The man accused of shooting and killing two nurses at a Dallas hospital’s maternity ward over the weekend is believed to have opened fire after accusing his girlfriend of cheating on him.

Jacqueline Poquaa, 45, and Kathy Annette Flowers, 63, were killed in Saturday’s shooting at Dallas Methodist Medical Center, according to police and the Dallas County Medical Examiner.

Authorities said Nestor Hernandez, 30, opened fire around 11 a.m. while visiting his girlfriend, who had just given birth, at the hospital.

The tragedy unfolded after he accused the woman of cheating and told her that “whoever enters this room will die with us.”

According to police reports, he pulled out a gun and hit her several times on the head.

At the time, Hernandez was on parole from prison and was allowed to stay in the hospital wearing an ankle monitor. He was shot and killed by police shortly after the attack began, authorities said.

Hernandez then allegedly shot and killed Cathy “Annette” Flowers (pictured) after she looked into the room after hearing gunfire. Her family calls Flowers a ‘hero’

“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 such as this should not have been on an ankle monitor and should have remained in custody.”

Hernandez has been charged with capital murder, but it was not clear Monday if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

He was not listed among the people being held at the Dallas County Jail, and authorities said he was treated at Methodist after the shooting and then transferred to another medical school for further treatment.

Hernandez arrived at the hospital around 10:20 a.m. to visit a woman who had given birth and began hitting her several times with a gun, Garcia said.

According to the arrest warrant obtained WFAA-TVHernandez was in the hospital giving birth and began accusing her of infidelity.

Hernandez then began making “ominous” calls and text messages to his family, told his girlfriend they were both going to die and said “whoever enters that room will die with us,” the TV station reported. Dallas. affidavit

Nestor Osvaldo Hernandez, 30, who opened fire at Methodist Medical Center in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, killing two nurses, was on parole for aggravated assault at the time of the shooting.

Hernandez has a long criminal history and is now facing capital murder charges for fatally shooting two nurses at a Dallas hospital over the weekend

He was on parole for aggravated burglary and was wearing an active ankle monitor at the time of the shooting, police said.

He shot Poquaa when she entered the room to see the woman, then shot Flowers after she looked into the room after hearing gunshots, Garcia said.

Hospital Police Sergeant Robert Rangel saw Flowers shot, called for backup and took cover near the room where Hernandez reloaded the gun, the chief said.

Family, friends and medical colleagues shared photos and names of the victims on social media with memories of their slain, demanding justice.

When Hernandez got out, Rangel shot him in the leg, and after a confrontation, police took him into custody, Garcia said.

Ghana News GhanaWeb Pokuua was reportedly a native of the African country and the daughter of a retired army colonel who resided in Accra.

Relatives of Flowers, who went through Annette, confirmed her death through a GoFundMe page, which described the beloved nurse as “a hero in her line of work, a single mother to 4 and a grandmother to 5 wonderful grandchildren.”

Garcia said the woman Hernandez hit was treated and that a newborn baby in the room was unharmed.

Police identified the two slain women as a nurse and an orderly, but did not say who did what job.

According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez, the suspect in Hernandez’s shooting was on parole last October for aggravated burglary. She said he was given permission to be with his “other half” at the hospital during her delivery.

Authorities have not released any information about how Hernandez obtained the weapon while on parole for a felony conviction.

Ghanaian news outlet GhanaWeb reported that Pokuua was a native of the African country and the daughter of a retired army colonel who lived in Accra

Methodist Medical System Police Chief Glenn Fowler said Monday that the hospital had not received any report of his criminal history or that he was being monitored with an ankle monitor.

Flowers’ loved ones confirmed her death via a GoFundMe page, which described the beloved nurse hero as “a single mother to 4 and a Grammy to 5 wonderful grandchildren.”

Methodist Medical System Police Chief Glenn Fowler said Monday that the hospital had not received any report of his criminal history or that he was being monitored with an ankle monitor.

“It’s not something we usually ask parents about,” Fowler said. “This is a very terrible situation that does not correspond to the norm. I wish we knew, but it’s not some kind of information that was given to us in advance.”

Garcia said Hernandez was sentenced to eight years for aggravated robbery, serving six before being paroled last year.

In March 2022, he was arrested for a parole violation and released to his handler in April.

In June, Garcia said, Hernandez was arrested in suburban Dallas for another parole violation, taken to a county jail and then turned over to Texas prisons, which released him this September with the ankle monitor he was wearing at the time of the shooting. .

Dallas County records show Nestor Hernandez has had multiple arrests since 2011, including charges of aggravated robbery, burglary and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The Dallas Police Department is leading an investigation into the shooting, which is also being reviewed by the Texas Office of the Inspector General of Prisons.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia speaks during a news conference at police headquarters on Monday. The Dallas Police Department is investigating the shooting

Garcia described the shooting at Dallas Methodist Medical Center last weekend, when a gunman killed two hospital employees