On January 21, 2023, 77-year-old terminally ill patient Jerry Gilland was fatally shot in his hospital room at AdventHealth Daytona Beach in Florida. His 76-year-old wife, Ellen Gilland, later said the shooting was part of a planned suicide pact they had discussed for weeks. After fatally shooting Jerry in room 1106 on the 11th floor, Ellen remained in the room and was confronted by hospital staff who heard the gunshot and found Jerry unresponsive in a pool of blood.

Staff and police evacuated nearby patients, including those on ventilators, and a standoff that lasted more than four hours followed. Police deployed a nonlethal explosive distraction device; SWAT members entered and tried to subdue Ellen with a stun gun. She fired into the ceiling, then dropped the weapon and was taken into custody. Ellen was initially charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer; she was later indicted on assisting self-murder/manslaughter and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and released on $150,000 bond.

The case prompted questions about how a firearm was brought into the hospital and highlighted the difficulty of evacuating critical patients without further harm. Does anyone have information about security gaps at AdventHealth Daytona Beach or witnessed events that night?