Nationwide — Kynath Terry Jr., a 19-year-old African American man from Homewood, Alabama, fatally shot his wife at a hospital shortly after they welcomed their first child, then took his own life. Authorities are treating the case as a domestic murder-suicide.
The couple, Terry and 24-year-old Precious Johnson, were at Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital on Sunday evening when the shooting occurred around 9:30 p.m. Johnson had just delivered a healthy baby, though it remains unclear if the newborn was in the room at the time.
According to the New York Post, Terry’s mother said that the couple had experienced marital issues in the weeks leading up to Johnson’s due date. Johnson had reportedly asked that Terry’s family not attend the birth, but it’s unknown if any of her relatives were present.
Despite the tension, Terry’s mother said she never expected her son to become violent. She also noted that Terry had completed Army National Guard training before marrying Johnson.
The hospital went into lockdown immediately after the shooting, which lasted several hours until authorities confirmed no ongoing threat. The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as domestic in nature and confirmed it was an apparent murder-suicide.
Danne Howard, President of the Alabama Hospital Association, called the incident “an isolated event” in her 30 years of experience. She added that the hospital would conduct a security review and implement measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.