Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed in Hebron, New York after a car she was in turned into a driveway by accident. Photo / Senator Chris Larson
Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed in Hebron, New York after a car she was in turned into a driveway by accident. Photo / Senator Chris Larson
A woman looking for a friend’s house in upstate New York was shot to death after the car she was riding in mistakenly went to the wrong address and was met with gunfire in the driveway, authorities said Monday.
Kaylin Gillis, 20, was travelling through the rural town of Hebron with three other people Saturday night when the group made a wrong turn onto the property.
They were trying to turn the car around when the homeowner, Kevin Monahan, 65, came out onto his porch and fired two shots, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.
“It’s a very rural area with dirt roads. It’s easy to get lost. They drove up this driveway for a very short time, realised their mistake and were leaving, when Mr Monahan came out and fired two shots,” the sheriff said.
The group drove to the neighbouring town of Salem, northeast of Albany near the Vermont state line, and called 911, said Murphy, who noted the shooting took place in an area with limited cell phone service. Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR on Gillis but couldn’t save her.
Kevin Monahan has been charged with second-degree murder after shooting at a vehicle and killing Kaylin Gillis, 20. Photo / Washington County Sheriff's Office
When officers arrived at Monahan’s house to investigate the shooting, he refused to come out, Murphy said. Authorities spoke with him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for about an hour before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff.
Monahan was booked into the Warren County jail on a charge of second-degree murder. It wasn’t clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Murphy said at a news conference Monday that Gillis, who lived in Schuylerville, “was an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friend’s house,” according to the Times Union of Albany. He said there was “no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened.”
The shooting happened days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot and wounded in Kansas City, Missouri, after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers.
