Nurse Stabbed, Killed Protecting Her Patients in Horror Attack in Texas Medical Center
A nurse has been stabbed in a Texas medical center on Tuesday in a horrific attack that has stunned patients at the facility. The nurse, Gail Sandidge, was attempting to protect her patients when she was stabbed in the chest by an attacker; tragically she later died from her injuries.
Gail Sandidge, a nurse at Good Shepherd Ambulatory Surgical Center in Longview, Texas, reportedly rushed to the aid of her patients when she heard screams in the medical center. She found a young man attacking visitors and employees. However, patients and family members watched on in horror as the attacker stabbed Sandidge in the chest as she tried to protect them.
Witness Jana Jackson has told KLTV: "She was just saying...'I'm hurt. He got me. And that's when we realized there was blood all on the front of her scrubs."
Urgent medical care was provided for the nurse, however, she died from her injuries a number of hours later.
Authorities have confirmed that four others were also wounded by the attacker, who is suspected to be 22-year-old male, Kyron Templeton.
Steve Altmiller, head of Good Shepherd Health Systems has said, "Nurses are protectors by nature. And Gail, she fit that profile. She was protecting her patients in an act of courage today, and in so doing, she lost her life."
Sandidge had worked for the hospital for nearly two decades, Altmiller described.
The suspect was later found by police on the street near the hospital, according to KLTV. He has been arraigned on a single count of first degree murder, and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Templeton is being held on $2.6 million bond.
Witness Jana Jackson told KLTV that her family have been trying to explain the incident to her two daughters who witnessed the horrific attack.
Jackson said, "We're just telling them there's bad people out there. There's not a lot of things we can do about the craziness in the world. That's why we go to church. They pray. They say their prayers every night."