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Bruce Gomola Jr. became upset during an appointment for his dad at Delaware Valley Urology when he pulled a .40 caliber handgun on a patient services representative who tried talking the situation over with him Friday afternoon, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina and Mount Laurel Police Department Chief Stephen Riedener said.
The bullet went through 44-year-old Stephanie Horton's chest and struck a female patient in her fifties in the knee around 12:50 p.m., Coffina and Riedener said.
Gomola, 51, of Burlington Township, left the building and drove away, but soon returned to the scene and surrendered without incident to a police detective, authorities said.
Horton, 44, of Willingboro, was pronounced dead around 4:20 p.m., at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. The patient was treated at the same facility for non-life-threatening injuries.
Gomola was charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Coffina and Riedener said.
He will be scheduled for a first appearance in Superior Court, and the case will then be prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.
More than $40,000 had been raised as of Saturday evening on a GoFundMe launched in Horton's memory.
"Stephanie was strong, she was selfless, & she would fight for those she loved," says the campaign, launched by Jennifer Otero.
"Even during the scariest moment of her life she was still trying to take care of everyone else. She was worried about her family, she didn't want them to worry."
Gomola is employed as a corrections officer at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. He is being held in the Camden County Correctional Facility in Camden.
The investigation is being conducted by the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Prosecutor’s Office.
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