According to authorities, a 20-year-old woman named Kaylin Gillis from Saratoga County was fatally shot by a homeowner in upstate New York on Saturday night. Gillis was riding in a car with three friends when they mistakenly turned into the wrong driveway while searching for a friend's house in the town of Hebron. As the driver of the car was leaving, Kevin Monahan, the homeowner, allegedly fired two shots from his patio at the vehicle, hitting Gillis with one of the bullets.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office stated that Monahan, 65, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. During a press conference on Monday, Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy referred to the incident as "a very sad case" of young adults who were lost and accidentally ended up at Monahan's property. Murphy added that the group of friends and the homeowner did not interact, and the friends never left the car.
After the gunshots rang out around 10 p.m., Gillis and her friends drove away to a neighboring town where they could call for help since the area lacked reliable cellphone service. Unfortunately, Gillis was pronounced dead when first responders reached the car.
Gillis' cousin expressed her grief, describing the victim as a young woman with a loving boyfriend and a strong, supportive family. The area where the shooting occurred is rural, with many dirt roads, making it easy to get lost. According to Sheriff Murphy, there was no threat from the group of friends to the homeowner, and investigators do not believe that mental illness or alcohol were factors in the shooting.
When deputies arrived at the scene, Monahan was allegedly uncooperative and refused to leave his home for over an hour before he was taken into custody. He is currently being held in neighboring Warren County before appearing in a Washington County court at a later date.