A man in upstate New York was charged with murder on Monday in the killing of a woman who was in a car that mistakenly drove into his driveway, officials said.

The woman and the three friends she was with never got out of the car on Saturday night, Jeffrey J. Murphy, the Washington County sheriff, said at a news conference. They were turning around after realising their error when the man, Kevin Monahan, 65, stepped out of his house, in Hebron, New York, and fired at least two shots at the car, the sheriff said.

One of the bullets struck the woman, Kaylin Gillis, 20, and the group drove about six miles to a nearby town before they got through to 911, Sheriff Murphy said.

Emergency services workers responded and performed lifesaving measures on Gillis, but she was pronounced dead, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Murphy described the killing of Gillis, who lived in Schuylerville, New York, about 20 miles from where the shooting happened, as “very sad”. He said he knew “for a fact that she comes from a good family” that he knew personally.

“She was an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friend’s house,” the sheriff said, adding, “Unfortunately, they drove up this driveway.”

Monahan was being held at a local jail and was expected to appear before a county court judge “in the near future,” Sheriff Murphy said.

Kurt Mausert, a lawyer for Monahan, said his client owned a contracting business, had lived in Washington County for 30 years and had no previous convictions.

“My preliminary view of this case is that it was a series of errors which resulted in a tragedy,” Mausert said. “It is too soon to say more than that.”

The shooting occurred late on Saturday in a section of Washington County, about 60 miles northeast of Albany, where many roads are made of dirt and not well-lit and where there is little cellphone or Internet service, Sheriff Murphy said.

Around 9.30pm, dispatchers received the 911 call about a possible shooting victim in Salem, New York, Sheriff Murphy said. At about the same time, they also received 911 calls about shots being fired on the road where Monahan lives, Sheriff Murphy said.

When officers arrived at the house, the sheriff said, Monahan was uncommunicative and would not come out. He was taken into custody after about an hour, the sheriff said.

Sheriff Murphy declined to comment on what kind of gun Monahan had used or whether any other weapons had been found at the house. He emphasised that no one had got out of the car before Monahan began firing.

“There was no reason for Monahan to feel threatened,” Sheriff Murphy said,“especially as it appears the vehicle was leaving.”

Black teen shot at

The circumstances surrounding Gillis’s killing echoed those of a shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, several days earlier involving a black teenager who was shot twice by a white homeowner after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell.

The shooting left the teenager, Ralph Yarl, 16, in critical condition with a gunshot wound in his head, according to his family members and their lawyers. They said he had been on his way to pick up his younger twin brothers at a friend’s house but had gone to the wrong house about a block away.

After being taken into custody, the homeowner in that shooting was initially released after 24 hours with no charges filed against him, a decision that touched off protests. On Monday, the man, Andrew D. Lester, was charged with first-degree assault.

In the Washington County shooting, Monahan is white, as was Gillis.

It was not clear if the teenager had knocked on Lester’s door or if he rang the doorbell, but he did not “cross the threshold” into the man’s home, Thompson said. The shots from a .32-calibre handgun were fired through a glass door, the prosecutor said, adding that there was no indication that “any words were exchanged”.

“We understand how frustrating this has been, but I can assure you that the criminal justice system is working, and will continue to work,” Thompson said.

Thompson said at the news conference that a warrant had been issued for his arrest, and that his bail had been set at $200,000. “I don’t have any information regarding his specific whereabouts,” he added, “but it’s my understanding law enforcement is aware of the situation and taking all appropriate action.”

The teenager’s father, Paul Yarl, said in a phone interview on Monday evening that his son underwent surgery over the weekend to remove the bullets.

He was able to walk out of the hospital on Sunday evening and was expected to make a full recovery, his father said.

The first bullet hit his son’s forehead on the side of his face, close to the hairline, he said, and the second hit his right arm.

New York Times News Service