A 20-year-old woman, Kaylin Gillis, was shot and killed after she and three others accidentally drove into the driveway of Kevin Monahan in the town of Hebron, BBC reported.
According to the Washington County sheriff, Jeff Murphy, the three friends were trying to turn the car around when the homeowner Kevin Monahan, 65, came out on his porch and fired two shots. One shot struck Kaylin Gillis.
According to reports, they were searching for a friend’s house in the town of Hebron.
The accused was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said during a Monday press conference.
“This is a very sad case of some young adults who were looking for a friend’s house and ended up at this man’s house who decided to come out with a firearm and discharge it,” Mr Murphy said.
The sheriff informed that the group drove to the neighbouring town of Salem, northeast of Albany near the Vermont state line, and called emergency services.
Kaylin Gillis was pronounced dead when first responders reached the car.
“She was just so young and she still had so much to live for. She had a very loving boyfriend, and she was so in love with him,” Gillis’ cousin Haleigh Eustis, 20, told New York Post.
“I can’t imagine how he feels right now. I know they were attached at the hip. And she had a very loving family. It’s just a loving, big family, and she had such a strong backbone from being a part of this family. And I feel so much anger that she can’t have that anymore.”
The sheriff informed that the homeowner and the group of friends did not interact and they never left the car.