DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Officials at Halifax Health Medical Center are considering upgrading security after a gunman shot his way into the facility and attempted to sexually assault a nurse before fatally shooting himself.
Jonathan Rodriguez-Jeff, 20, fired shots at passing vehicles and blew out the windows of three vehicles in the hospital parking lot before entering the facility with a shotgun blast on Jan. 5. For about 21 minutes, Rodriguez-Jeff remained silent in the building, making it difficult for authorities to locate him, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.
As he roamed the hospital, Rodriguez-Jeff entered four patient rooms. His last stop was the room of an Alzheimer’s patient, who was being attended to by her nurse. The assailant pointed the weapon at the nurse and ordered her to her knees, ordering the nurse to perform oral sex.
The nurse, thinking quickly, told Rodriguez-Jeff that she had a disease, resulting in the suspect saying that the nurse was going to “die anyway.” Instead, the nurse grabbed the gun and pushed it away from her head. Rodriguez-Jeff then pointed the gun at the side of his mouth and fired the weapon.
The incident has prompted the Halifax Health’s board of commissioners to recommend arming security guards and limiting access to the facility. Additionally, the board wants to add more cameras to the more than 200 that are already in place, WFTV.com reports.
It is unclear when the security changes will be implemented.
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