A nurse was shot and killed during an apparent robbery in a hospital parking lot by a patient who officials say was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Ada Doss, 27, a married mother of two, was walking to her car during a shift change at DCH Regional Medical Center when 41-year-old Mathew James Taylor approached her, demanded her purse and then shot her, authorities said. A friend had dropped Taylor off at the hospital earlier in the day at his own request because he “needed help,” police said.
After the shooting, Taylor rifled through Doss’s belongings before officers found him just feet from her body and took him into custody. Doss was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This tragic crime is a direct result of a mental health crisis that, let me be clear, could have happened anywhere but regrettably it happened in our parking lot,” DCH spokesman Rick Plummer said. “An unhealthy man did a horrific thing, and I know we’re all feeling fear and anxiety right now.”
Police said Taylor never entered the hospital and instead loitered on the campus for several hours. Just before the fatal shooting, he allegedly tried to rob another woman, but she was already in her vehicle and drove away. Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy said the violent encounters involving both victims unfolded in a span of 10 to 15 minutes.
“Nobody close to Taylor knows how he came to possess the gun,” Kennedy added, noting Taylor has no prior criminal history. “We have no reason to believe anyone provided him a firearm for this act.”
Taylor was charged with capital murder and is being held without bond in the county jail. “It’s a tragedy,” Kennedy said. “Everyone needs to maintain situational awareness.”
