Suspect Arrested In Shooting of Former Kentucky Lawmaker’s Daughter

A man suspected of shooting and killing a Kentucky lawmaker’s daughter has been arrested, according to Kentucky State Police (KSP).

Shannon Gilday, 23, of Taylor Mill, Kentucky was found walking along Barnes Mill Road in Madison County just after 4:30 a.m. this morning by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and he was taken into custody without incident, police say. 

Gilday is accused of breaking into former Kentucky state Rep. Wesley Morgan’s Richmond, Kentucky, mansion on Feb. 22 and shooting his 32-year-old daughter, Jordan Morgan, in her bed. 

KSP say that after shooting Jordan Morgan, Gilday confronted Wesley Morgan, and the two exchanged gunfire, with Wesley Morgan sustaining non-life threatening injuries. 

Police said last week that they could not yet hypothesize on Gilday’s motivation, but the Courier Journal reported on Friday that Gilday’s mother posted to Facebook saying that Gilday thought nuclear war was imminent, and he had spoken about building a bunker. They quote her post as saying her son "has not been of sound mind the last couple of weeks, distraught with the certainty a nuclear war is imminent. He spoke of building a bunker and the CIA following him. I tried to get him psychiatric help but to no avail."

Real estate listings for Morgan’s home show that it contains an underground bunker “built to withstand a Seismic 12 earthquake.”

Police say Gilday was seen on surveillance footage from Morgan’s home, wearing camo or tactical-stye pants and jacket, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, gloves and a light-colored face mask

After the shooting, KSP say that Gilday fled the scene in a white 2016 Toyota Corolla. He faces preliminary charges of murder, two counts of attempted murder and burglary, criminal mischief and assault in the first degree.

He was denied bond and will go before a judge on Wednesday.

Jordan Morgan was an attorney who had recently started working with Reminger Attorneys in Lexington. She had also previously worked as a deputy press security in Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration.

Wesley Morgan served in the Kentucky state House for one term. He also owns several liquor stores in the state.

This story was originally published by CityBeat sister paper LEO Weekly.

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