Teenage husband kills wife after childbirth, takes own life at US hospital

2026-03-03 - 12:47

A 19-year-old man shot and killed his 24-year-old wife before turning the weapon on himself inside an Alabama hospital shortly after the couple welcomed their first child. Authorities said Kynath Terry Jr. opened fire on Precious Johnson at Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital at about 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to WTVM 13. After shooting Johnson, he shot himself. Johnson had just given birth to a healthy baby before the shooting occurred. Police said Terry and Johnson were the only people injured, and it remains unclear whether the newborn was in the room at the time. Terry’s mother told the station the couple had been experiencing marital problems ahead of Johnson’s due date, though she never believed the issues would escalate into violence. She also said Terry had completed Army National Guard training before marrying Johnson. According to her, Johnson did not want members of Terry’s family present at the hospital for the delivery. It is not known whether anyone from Johnson’s family was there. Following reports of gunfire, the hospital was placed on lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” as officers responded to the scene. The restriction remained in place for several hours until officials determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the station reported. The Homewood Police Department said the case appears to be “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.” President of the Alabama Hospital Association, Danne Howard, described the shooting as “an isolated incident” and said it was unlike anything she had seen in her 30 years working in the state’s healthcare system. Howard added that Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would review its security protocols and apply “lessons learned” from a required after-action report.