A woman looking for a friend's house in upstate New York was shot to death after the car she was riding in mistakenly went to the wrong address and was met with gunfire in the driveway.
Kaylin Gillis, 20, was travelling through the rural town of Hebron with three other people Saturday night when the group made a wrong turn onto the property.
They were trying to turn the car around when the homeowner, Kevin Monahan, 65, came out onto his porch and fired two shots, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.
One round hit Kaylin.
The group drove to the neighbouring town of Salem, northeast of Albany near the Vermont state line, and called 911, said Sheriff Murphy, who noted the shooting took place in an area with limited cell phone service.
Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR on Kaylin but couldn't save her.
When officers arrived at Monahan's house to investigate the shooting, he refused to come out, Sheriff Murphy said. Authorities spoke with him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for about an hour before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff.
Monahan was booked into the Warren County jail on a charge of second-degree murder. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Sheriff Murphy said at a news conference Monday that Kaylin, who lived in Schuylerville, "was an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friend's house," according to the Times Union of Albany. He said there was "no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened".
The shooting happened days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot and wounded in Kansas City, Missouri, after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers.
Andrew Lester, 84, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action after the incident.
The shooting has drawn condemnation from President Joe Biden and various civil rights groups.
Ralph, 16, is understood to have turned up to pick up his two younger brothers when he approached the wrong house at roughly 10pm on Thursday night.
Lester came to the door and allegedly shot the boy in the forehead before firing at him again, hitting him in the right forearm.
Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that there was a "racial component" when Andrew Lester allegedly twice shot the 16-year-old, who is recovering at home after being released from hospital.
