Violence at Florida Hospital Leaves Pharmacist Dead

Nov. 21, 2006
Woman in custody after argument that led to fatal shooting

The Shands Jacksonville Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., is in mourning today after an incident there on Monday.

According to local news reports, the hospital's pharmacist, Shannon McCants was murdered by a hospital patient or visitor. The alleged shooter, Brenda Joyce Coney, reportedly confessed to shooting the pharmacist repeatedly on Monday morning.

According to reports, the two women were in an argument before the shooting occurred.

The Shands Jacksonville Hospital, like most hospitals, does not use metal detectors or other devices or search procedures to keep weapons out of the facility. According to a local TV station, the hospital employs off-duty police officers, but the officers were not at the pharmacy location at the time of the shooting.

In recent years, pharmacies have been targeted for their collection of prescription drugs, but news reports did not indicate that the fatal shooting was in anyway motivated by theft.