Tributes have been paid to a young woman who authorities said was fatally shot by a homeowner in upstate New York after the car she was riding in mistakenly went to the wrong address.
Kaylin Gillis, 20, of Schuylerville, New York, was in a car with three friends looking for another friend's house when they drove into the driveway of a home on Patterson Hill Road in the rural town of Hebron on Saturday night.
They were leaving when the homeowner, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, came out onto his porch and fired two shots, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said during a press conference on Monday. One struck Gillis, who was a passenger in the vehicle.
The shooting happened in an area with limited cell phone service, Murphy said. He said the group drove to the neighboring town of Salem and called 911. Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR on Gillis, but she died at the scene.
She was "an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friend's house," Murphy said. "I know for a fact that she comes from a good family."
Gillis had only recently turned 20, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help her family cover funeral and other expenses.
"On behalf of the Gillis family, we would like to thank everyone who has offered their love and prayers as they embark on this incredibly difficult journey of grief and healing," the organizers wrote on the page. They have been contacted for further comment.
Gillis was a cheerleader at Schuylerville High School, where she graduated from in 2021, according to a Facebook post on the Schuylerville Varsity Cheerleading page.
"She was such a sweet girl, with a kind heart and big smile. She was always laughing," the post said. "Rest easy sweet girl, our hearts are broken."
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Eric Whiting wrote: "My daughter had her best friend killed right in front of her this weekend. She was a wonderful girl with a sweet soul, and a sick man with a gun took her life."
Monahan was uncooperative and refused to come out of his house when officers arrived to investigate the shooting, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Murphy said authorities communicated with him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for more than a hour before he was taken into custody.
Monahan was later booked into the Warren County Jail on a second-degree murder charge. It is not clear if he has an attorney.
Murphy said he was not aware of any interaction between the car's occupants and Monahan. He added that there was "no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened."
The shooting came just days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Kansas City, Missouri, after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers. Yarl, who is Black, is recovering at home after being released from hospital.
Andrew Lester, 84, who is white, was charged with first-degree assault for the shooting on Monday. Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a "racial component" to the shooting.
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