HEBRON, N.Y. – 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 traveling 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.
One round hit Gillis.
The group drove to the neighboring 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.
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. Authorities are investigating whether race was a factor in the shooting of Yarl, who is Black.
Race does not appear to be a factor in the New York case. From photos they both appear to be white.