A Dallas ex-con had been released on parole, after serving a prison sentence for aggravated robbery and violating parole two times. He was required to wear electronic monitoring and his movements were tracked. 

His girlfriend was in labor, and he was granted permission to be with her at the hospital while she gave birth.

On October 22, Nestor Oswaldo Hernandez, 30, accompanied his girlfriend to Methodist Dallas Medical Center, and the visit resulted in him fatally shooting two hospital employees. 

A Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson, Amanda Hernandez, said Nestor Hernandez was released from prison on October 20, 2021.

According to an arrest warrant released by Dallas media station WFAA, Hernandez became upset while in his girlfriend’s hospital labor room and accused her of cheating on him. He searched the room to see if there was another man there. He pulled out a gun and hit his girlfriend with it and threatened her. He then texted and phoned family members, telling them he was going to kill himself and his girlfriend. He also said he would kill anyone who came into the room.

Police said Hernandez fired his gun at the medical facility on October 22 at around 11 am, killing two of the hospital nurses, and was subdued by a hospital security officer, who shot and injured him.

The jealous attacker fatally shot the first person who came into the hospital room. A second victim and a security officer at the hospital were in the hallway and heard the gunfire and entered the hospital room to see what was happening. The second victim was then fatally shot by Hernandez. The hospital security officer was able to shoot Hernandez in the leg and incapacitate him. 

Nestor Hernandez had been arrested earlier in the year, in March, for a parole violation related to a minor accident investigation. He was released to his parole officer in April, according to Dallas police. He was arrested again for a violation of his parole in June, when he cut off his ankle monitor in Carrollton. 

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia condemned the justice system for allowing the ex-con to be released after his first violent crime and subsequent parole violations, and to obtain a firearm. In his statement, he said he was outraged at the lack of accountability and that the broken justice system gives convicted felons more chances than victims.  

Dr. Teresa Bumpus, Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Nurses Association, lamented that no one, and especially healthcare workers, who are committed to healing people, should go to work fearing for their lives. She urged legislators to do more to protect the lives of healthcare workers.

Dr. Bumpus released statistics from the US Labor Statistics Bureau revealing that violence in the workplace violence has increased since COVID-19 began and that nurses are three times more at risk than all other professionals.