DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 76-year-old woman accused of fatally shooting her ailing husband in a Florida hospital was released Friday night on $150,000 bond.
Ellen Gilland was initially charged with first-degree murder in January after police said she shot 77-year-old Jerry Gilland in a suicide pact she claims she had been planning for weeks. However, she failed to turn the gun on herself after shooting her husband in the 11th-floor hospital room at AdventHealth Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said at a news conference of the press after the January 21 incident.
Instead, Gilland engaged in a four-hour standoff with police officers. They eventually used a non-lethal explosive to distract her and take her into custody, Young said. She has been held in the Volusia County Jail since her arrest. Jail records show she was released Friday night.
On Wednesday, Gilland was charged with lesser charges of assisted suicide/manslaughter and aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
Two hospital employees heard a gunshot from room 1106 and saw Ellen Gilland standing by the bed with her husband unresponsive in a pool of blood, a police report said. He pointed the gun at the two and told them to leave the room. Another employee also came in and was told to leave.
Patients were evacuated from nearby rooms and officers lined the hallway with guns pointed at the open door of Gilland’s room. They shouted repeatedly, “Drop the gun!” according to an officer’s body camera, recorded about 10 minutes after the shooting.
After the explosive detonated, SWAT team members entered the room and attempted to use a stun gun, but it failed to subdue Ellen Gilland. She fired a single shot into the ceiling, then dropped the gun and was taken into custody, the police report said.
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