A nurse who worked at the same hospital for nearly 35 years since 1978 lost her life during her shift. Four other individuals within the hospital received injuries from the same attacker. The attack was located within the Longview, Texas Ambulatory Surgical Center of Good Shepard Medical Center, which is the areas largest employer. A single man is currently being held responsible for the loss of life and injuries of four people.
Several people within the hospital witnessed Gail Sandidge, the nurse on duty who was trying to keep the attacker away from her patients. She received a fatal stab wound in her chest. “She was just saying. … ‘I’m hurt. He got me,’” said one witness, to a CNN affiliate, KLTV. “And that’s when we realized there was blood all on the front of her scrubs.”
Sandidges personal last efforts were the main reason more people did not have critical injuries. “Nurses are protectors by nature, and Gail, she fit that profile,” said Steve Altmiller, who heads up Good Shepherd Health Systems, in the CNN report. “She was protecting her patients in an act of courage … and in so doing, she lost her life.”
Who Is Gail Sandidge? Texas Nurse Stabbed And Killed While Protecting Patients During Surgery Center Attack http://t.co/sNQ9QqaXMN
— Vernon Dutton (@nursingpins) November 30, 2013
The murder weapon was found by police right outside the hospital. It did not take long for a suspect to be arrested and charged. According to information released by the Longview Police Department, Kyron Rayshawn Templeton was arrested and held on a $2.6 million dollar bond. He is currently facing charges of murder and three separate charges involving aggravated assault involving a deadly weapon. he Longview News Journal reported Templeton told police “they” were trying to kill his mother.
Within two hours of the fatal stabbing Gail Sandidge passed away from her wounds. The hospital system stated, “The Good Shepherd family tragically lost a member of our team this morning,” said Steve Altmiller, president and chief executive officer of the Good Shepherd Health System.
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