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The deadly shooting happened Saturday night, April 15, in Washington County, in the town of Hebron, located southeast of Glens Falls.
Deputies were called just before 10 p.m. with reports that a woman had been shot on Patterson Hill Road, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency crews found the victim and three others in a vehicle on Cemetery Road in the town of Salem, approximately five miles from the initial shooting scene.
According to sheriff’s officials, medics performed CPR on the victim, but she died from her injuries.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, April 17, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy identified the victim as 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, of the village of Schuylerville in Saratoga County.
Investigators determined that Gillis and three others were looking for a friend’s house when they accidentally drove down a stranger’s driveway.
After realizing their mistake, they turned around and were leaving the home when the owner, 65-year-old Kevin Monohan, fired two shots at their vehicle, striking Gillis, deputies said.
The group then drove to the Cemetery Road location in Salem, where they had better cell phone reception, and called 911.
According to Murphy, Monohan was uncooperative when deputies arrived and spent roughly an hour holed up inside his home before surrendering.
He was arrested for second-degree murder and is being held at the Warren County jail ahead of his arraignment.
Investigators said it does not appear that the group of friends had any interaction with Monohan before the shooting.
Deputies did not elaborate on Gillis’ injuries or say what type of weapon was used in the shooting.
“This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend's house and ended up at this man's house who decided to come out with a firearm and discharge it,” Murphy told reporters, adding that he personally knows the Gillis family.
“I know for a fact that she comes from a very good family,” he said. “She's a young girl that was taken way too young.”
Eric Whiting, the father of one of the passengers inside the car, recounted his daughter’s harrowing experience in a post on Facebook.
“My daughter had her best friend killed right in front of her this weekend,” Whiting said. “She was a wonderful girl with a sweet soul, and a sick man with a gun took her life.”
Whiting went on to share a GoFundMe campaign created to help Gillis’ family with memorial expenses. As of Monday, April 17, more than $20,000 had been raised on a goal of $25,000.
Those who wish to support the GoFundMe can do so here.
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