Parolee arrested in Dallas hospital killings was granted permission to attend birth at hospital

The gunman’s girlfriend, who had given birth to their child, said he told her “We are both going to die today” and “Whoever comes in this room is going to die with us”

October 23, 2022 07:08 PM

Police respond to an active shooter incident at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Two hospital employees were shot during the incident, according to police.

By Emerson Clarridge
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

DALLAS — A man who police allege shot to death two employees inside a Dallas hospital on Saturday was a parolee who had received permission to be at the facility for the delivery of a child, according to the state agency responsible for the supervision of inmates who are released on parole.

Nestor Hernandez, 30, was convicted in a Dallas County of aggravated robbery and released from prison on Oct. 20, 2021. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles placed him on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring.

Hernandez was granted permission to be at Methodist Dallas Medical Center with his significant other during delivery, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez said on Sunday.

The department’s Office of Inspector General is working with Dallas police in the case, Amanda Hernandez said.

Many elements of the slayings were not clear on Sunday. Methodist Health System spokesman Ryan Owens declined to say on what floor the violence occurred, release the titles of the employees or say whether they were men or women.

A Methodist Health System police officer shot Nestor Hernandez after the suspect shot the victims, the system has said. The injured suspect was stabilized and taken to another hospital. His condition on Sunday was not clear.

Nestor Hernandez went to the hospital to visit his girlfriend, who had given birth to their child, according to the police account that was described in an arrest warrant affidavit that WFAA-TV reported that it had reviewed.

Hernandez began acting strange and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him, according to the affidavit. The suspect searched the room for another person. He struck his girlfriend in the head with a handgun, according to the affidavit.

His girlfriend told police that Nestor Hernandez said, “We are both going to die today,” and said, “Whoever comes in this room is going to die with us,” according to the affidavit.

The first victim entered the room and was shot. The second victim looked into the room and was shot. The officer took cover and shot Nestor Hernandez in the right leg.

There were no updates to report on Sunday on the investigation of the killings, Dallas police Sgt. Warren Mitchell said. The victims were shot about 11 a.m. at the hospital in the 1400 block of North Beckley Avenue.

Methodist Health System police arrested Nestor Hernandez on suspicion of capital murder.

Hernandez served a two-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty in a 2011 armed robbery and a five-year sentence after he pleaded guilty in a 2015 robbery, according to The Dallas Morning News. The victims were beaten, and their property was stolen, the news organization reported.