Dallas Police Department personnel are continuing to investigate the shooting of a man at Methodist Dallas Medical Center who allegedly killed two hospital employees and injured a patient in late October. “In an effort to be transparent,” police say, they release body cam video from officer-involved shootings. They released the video Wednesday, see below, along with an update.
Sergeant Robert Rangel who shot suspect 30-year-old Nestor Hernandez is a Methodist Health System Police Department officer, according to Deputy Chief Terrance Rhodes who delivered the update on the DPD YouTube channel, and this is the first police-involved shooting for a Methodist-employed officer.
Hernandez reportedly was visiting a woman who was giving birth when he pulled a gun from his waistband and bashed the patient in the head multiple times. The newborn was in the room and was unharmed.
“After the assault, a hospital employee, 45-year-old Jaqueline Pokuaa, came into the room to provide services to the patient,” Rhodes reports. “Pokuaa was attending to the patient, the suspect stood up and moved to the employee, and shot her once.”
Methodist Medical System Sergeant Robert Rangel was just a few doors down investigating a stolen property call when he and hospital staff heard what appeared to be a gunshot in a nearby room, Rhodes says. As he was heading for the room, he witnessed the shooter killing hospital employee, Katie Flowers, 63, who rushed to the aid of her coworker and the patients.
“The investigation shows Hernandez reportedly reloaded his weapon and started to leave the room, still armed with his gun,” police say, and “Sergeant Rangel fired one shot from his department-issued weapon and hit the suspect in his leg. Hernandez went back into the room after being shot, and after a standoff with police, he was taken into custody.”
According to the officer, there were Dallas Police Officers at the hospital, who helped with taking the suspect into custody. No DPD officers fired their weapons or were injured. The patient assaulted by Hernandez prior to the shooting was treated for their injuries. The newborn child in the room at the time of the incident but was not injured. Hernandez was treated at Methodist Hospital and later moved to another local hospital for further treatment. He has been charged with Capital Murder. Both the officer-involved shooting and homicide investigations are ongoing.”
As reported earlier, Hernandez is already on parole for aggravated robbery and had an active ankle monitor.
Warning: Video will be disturbing to sensitive viewers. Portions of the video are audio only due to the graphic nature of the content. The video is heavily redacted out of respect for the victims and families, police say.
