A former prisoner who had been released on parole has been arrested after shooting two Methodist Dallas employees dead. The violent criminal, who had been arrested twice for parole violations – the most recent in June 2022 – was allowed to walk free and commit more violence across Texas. Now, 30-year-old Nestor Hernandez will face murder charges for the violence he committed while his girlfriend was giving birth in a Texas hospital. This is a tragic case, and our hearts go out to the family of the victim.
Hernandez had been on parole for an aggravated robbery he committed in 2015. As part of his parole, he had to wear an ankle monitor so authorities would be able to track his whereabouts at all times. Hernandez’s girlfriend was giving birth to their child, so the Texas Department of Criminal Justice allowed Hernandez to visit his partner in the hospital.
Unfortunately, Methodist Hospital Chief Glen Fowler claims that no one at the hospital was warned that a violent criminal would be in attendance for the birth of his child. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice may have given Hernandez special permission to attend, but this information was not relayed to hospital staff ahead of time.
Hernandez arrived at the hospital with his girlfriend on October 21, 2022, after she had given birth. While Hernandez was in the room with his new family, he began to act “strangely” and accused his girlfriend of cheating on him; it is possible that he felt that the baby was not actually his child.
“The police department had no forewarning that this person was being monitored by ankle monitor or anything about his criminal history,” said Fowler, the Texas law enforcement team carelessly let the violent felon enter the hospital without any warning.
As Hernandez grew more and more agitated, he started looking around the room for another man. He checked the bathroom, then went back to where his girlfriend was and pulled a gun out of his pants. He used it to hit her in the head several times, causing severe injuries. Then he began making phone calls to family members.
Law enforcement reports state that Hernandez told his girlfriend and the mother of his child, “We are both going to die today,” as well as, “whoever comes in this room is going to die with us.”
Jacqueline Pokuaa, a 45-year-old nurse social worker, entered the room. She was shot in cold blood. Upon hearing gunshots, nurse Annette Flowers hastily ran into the room only to be shot in her tracks.
Upon seeing the second nurse get shot, Methodist Hospital Police Sergeant Robert Rangel sprung into action and called for reinforcements.
Rangel shot Hernandez’s leg forcing him to stay on the scene. After a stand-off, law enforcement took Hernandez into custody.
“This isn’t about being on parole,” stated Chief Garcia. “What this is about is a violent criminal that was on ankle monitor and us thinking that in some way, shape or form that that’s a level of accountability. Because it is not.”