DALLAS — A gunman who killed two medical workers this weekend at Methodist Dallas Medical Center reloaded his weapon and was leaving the room when a hospital police officer shot him in the leg, Dallas police Chief Eddie García said Monday at a news conference.
Nestor Oswaldo Hernandez, 30, then retreated into the room, and surrendered Saturday after a brief standoff, García said. Hernandez’s newborn baby was in the room when he fired, but wasn’t injured, according to police and court records.
Hernandez faces a capital murder charge. Moments before he was shot by a police officer, Hernandez pulled a handgun from his pants and shot the nurse and a caseworker, who were identified Monday as Jacqueline Ama Pokuaa, 45, and Katie Flowers, 63, García said.
He was on parole and had an active ankle monitor, but had permission to be at the hospital Saturday because his girlfriend gave birth to their child, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He served 80% of an eight-year prison sentence after he was convicted of aggravated robbery, but was released in October 2021, according to prison officials. He has been arrested for parole violations since then, García said.
Glen Fowler, Methodist Health System’s police chief, said Monday the police had “no forewarning that this person was being monitored by ankle monitor” and would be at the hospital.
“Anything about his criminal history, that’s not something that we normally inquire about for a parent in our NICU or mother-baby units,” he said. “This is an extremely horrific, out-of-the-norm situation, and I wish that we would’ve known but that is not some information that was provided to us beforehand.”
García said the quarrel “isn’t about being on parole,” but instead should shed light on “a violent criminal that was on ankle monitor and us thinking that in some way, shape or form that’s a level of accountability — because it is not.”
“If an individual needed permission to go someplace, then you would think that the place that they were going to would have some communication,” García added.
Police wrote in an arrest-warrant affidavit Hernandez walked into Methodist about 11 a.m. Saturday, accused his girlfriend of cheating and repeatedly struck her head with a handgun while their baby was in the room. The girlfriend told police that Hernandez told her “we are both going to die today,” and “whoever comes in this room is going to die with us,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit alleged Hernandez fatally shot the first victim when the person entered the room. Then, the warrant alleges, Hernandez shot the second victim, who looked into the room after the gunshot. A Methodist Health Systems officer also heard the shot and took cover before shooting Hernandez in the right leg.
Pokuaa was shot when she came inside the room to provide routine patient services, García said. Flowers then looked inside the room, and Hernandez shot her, he said.
Methodist police Sgt. Robert Rangel heard the gunshot while he was investigating a stolen property call a few doors down, and saw when Flowers was shot, García said. Rangel called for help on his police radio, and then shot Hernandez as he left the room, police said.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles told The Dallas Morning News on Monday that Hernandez was sentenced to prison for eight years in 2015 for his aggravated robbery conviction, and was denied parole after a review in January 2019.
He was paroled in December 2020 “with a requirement to complete a rehabilitation program” because he’d participated in treatment and would be supervised, the board said. Hernandez was released on parole Oct. 20, 2021, after serving 80% of his sentence.
As questions circulated from the public and police officials about Hernandez, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot issued a written statement Monday saying his office isn’t responsible for parole decisions. He said a criminal case hasn’t been filed yet with his office, but once it is, “my team will work to see that justice is done.”
“I remain sickened, stunned and heartbroken by the senseless shooting at Methodist Hospital,” Creuzot said. “Given the sacrifices our health care workers make on a daily basis they should be free from threats of violence, especially in an area that is typically filled with the celebration of new life.”
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