Two healthcare professionals were fatally shot after a jealous lover got into an argument in the maternity ward of a hospital in Dallas. Authorities say the man was arguing with his girlfriend, who he believed had cheated on him.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, around 10:21 a.m. Nestor Hernandez shot and killed two maternity ward workers and injured one police officer at the Methodist Dallas Medical Center. After the slayings of Jacqueline Pokuaa, 45, and Annette Flowers, 63, the shooter (who was wearing a GPS ankle monitor), was taken into custody by members of the Dallas Police Department.
The state’s office of inspector general is working with the Methodist Health System Police and Dallas Police Department on the investigation of the double homicide and gathering details surrounding what up to the shooting.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Hernandez had been paroled on Oct. 20, 2021, following an eight-year aggravated robbery sentence in 2015 and had been arrested twice in 2022, while out on parole, according to WFAA.
“He was on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring,” the representative said, adding the man was granted permission to visit his girlfriend at the hospital after she delivered their baby.
Preliminary discovery revealed to authorities, according to a DPD release, Hernandez allegedly accused his girlfriend, who had just given birth to a child, of cheating on him. As the child was close to her, the boyfriend began to berate her and flood her with insults, before pulling out a handgun and pistol-whipping her, according to ABC News.
As he beat her in the head with the weapon, he said, “We are both going to die today” and “whoever comes in this room is going to die with us,” his arrest warrant affidavit alleges.
The affidavit alleged he also made “ominous phone calls and text messages to his family.”
Pokuaa was performing her duties as a social worker and came into the room to see the patient, and police say it was then that Hernandez fatally shot the Ghana native.
Nurse Flowers and Sgt. Robert Rangel, a Methodist Hospital police officer, were in the hallway when the gunshot went off. Flowers peeked into the room and was shot dead.
Rangel reportedly shot Hernandez in the leg after Hernandez had reloaded his handgun and emerged into the hallway to run. The wounded retreated back into his girlfriend’s hospital room.
Before long, more officers converged on the hospital with the hope of de-escalating and preventing more deaths. After a standoff, Hernandez was taken into custody.
After he was apprehended, according to a police report, he was taken to a different hospital for treatment for his leg injury.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said it is the “broken” system’s fault because he believes Hernandez should have never been on the streets and gotten a chance the people he killed did not receive.
“I’m outraged along with our community, at the lack of accountability, and the travesty of the fact that under this broken system, we give violent criminals more chances than our victims,” Garcia wrote on Twitter. “The pendulum has swung too far.”
On Monday, Oct. 24, Garcia continued to speak out in frustration at a press conference, saying, “On Saturday, we lost two health care workers who were going about their day caring for others. But I have stated publicly before and I know you’re going to ask it for my opinions, this is a failure of our criminal justice system.”
“A violent individual such as this should not have been on an ankle monitor and should have remained in custody,” he continued. “Hernandez has a criminal history including aggravated assault of a public servant, burglary of habitation, and aggravated robbery.”
Former Dallas County prosecutor Toby Shook agrees that the system is broken.
Shook said there should have been a minimum sentence of 25 years for Hernandez’s 2015 crime. He said he is struggling to make sense of anyone offering him a plea agreement for eight years, after reviewing his criminal history.
“Why they did that isn’t clear, but that clearly gave him an avenue to get out of prison early — and, with his violent history, that’s a very dangerous thing for the public,” Shook remarked. “It’s not that complicated. You have a violent offender who has a long history of violence. Using your common sense, he’s going to commit more violent crimes.”
The head of the Texas Nurses Association called the incident “unacceptable.”
“No person should fear for their life for merely going to work, especially a nurse or healthcare worker whose passion is to help others heal,” Dr. Serena Bumpus, the organization’s CEO, shared in a statement. “We hope our legislators understand that we need to protect our healthcare workers.”
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzo also commented on the deadly disturbance, writing he was “sickened, stunned and heartbroken by the senseless shooting at Methodist Hospital.”
After pointing out that his office does not make parole decisions, he said in his capacity as DA he will make sure once this case hits his desk, his team will bring forth “justice.”
“A criminal case has not yet been filed with our office,” Creuzot said. “Once the investigating agency completes its investigation and files a case with our office, my team will work to see that justice is done. I share our community’s heartache, anger, and shock for this loss of life.”
