A 76-year-old woman has been arrested after shooting her terminally ill husband dead in hospital, according to police. The woman, who has not been identified, was carrying out a murder-suicide pact she and her partner, 77, had made, authorities believe.
Hostage negotiators and a flash bang were used to arrest the woman after the man had been shot in the head.
She could now be charged with first-degree murder.
“Apparently, because he was terminally ill, they had a conversation about it, and they actually planned this approximately about three weeks ago, if he continued to take a turn for the worse,” Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told a press conference.
“He wanted her to end this.”
Police were alerted to the shooting at AdventHealth Daytona Beach in Florida, US at 11.45am on Saturday.
Authorities spoke with the woman on the 11th floor until around 3pm when she was detained with the distraction flash grenade.
Investigators believe the husband intended to shoot his wife and himself but could not just to his “depressed state”.
“Initially, I think the plan was a murder-suicide,” Police Chief Young said.
“So she killed him, and she was going to turn the gun on herself, but she couldn’t go through with it.”
A cardiologist working at the hospital said he learned of the shooting while working in the emergency department.
Dr Horenstein told CNN: “Someone came in screaming in the emergency department that this was not a drill and to shelter in place.”
Horenstein said he was able to leave the supply room after roughly 90 minutes as police responded to the situation.
