Nurse Stabbed Died Protecting Patients, According To Police

A nurse, stabbed to death at a Texas medical center on Tuesday, was trying to protect patients, according to police.

When she heard screams, Gail Sandidge ran to those calling for help but was stabbed in front of horrified patients, family members, and colleagues.

“She was just saying (…) ‘I’m hurt. He got me,'” a witness, Jana Jackson, told CNN affiliate KLTV. “And that’s when we realized there was blood all on the front of her scrubs.”

Sandidge was pronounced dead a few hours later from her injuries.

Authorities say four others were also wounded when Kyron Templeton, 22, began attacking patients and workers at Good Shepherd Ambulatory Surgical Center in Longview, Texas on Tuesday morning.

In a statement, Steve Altmiller, head of Good Shepherd Health Systems, said the nurse stabbed was killed trying to protect her patients.

“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.”

Altmiller described Sandidge as “a seamstress, a Sunday-school teacher of 2-year-olds, a huge Baylor fan, a mother, a grandmother, a healer, a trainer, a mentor, a nurturer.”

The nurse stabbed on Tuesday was a veteran of the system, having been in her position for nearly two decades, Altmiller said.

Police, which responded to the call, arrested Templeton on a street near the hospital, KLTV reported.

He was arraigned on one count of first-degree murder for the stabbing of the nurse and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Tuesday. However, authorities haven’t said what the motive was, a police spokeswoman said.

Witnesses told KLTV they saw the accused killer at around 7 am running through the surgical center, holding a hunting knife and yelling, “You are not going to kill my mother.”

“He had a death grip on the knife and he was just muttering and his eyes were kind of wild-looking,” an eyewitness said. “It was just, he was very confused.”

Moments later, the scene turned into chaos and medical personnel, including the nurse stabbed, rushed to hide away patients while others were administering CPR to victims.

Altimiller said of the four other victims, one remained in critical condition as of Tuesday evening, another is in good condition, while two others, including a hospital employee, were treated and released.

Those present during the vicious attack are now trying to make sense of what happened and why the dedicated nurse was stabbed to death doing her job.