Bluffton woman who shot Hilton Head doctor, killed self bought gun legally, police say

The Bluffton woman who shot a Hilton Head doctor multiple times Tuesday before killing herself purchased the gun from a local merchant, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office release.

Police did not name the merchant or the type of gun in the release sent at 5:38 p.m. Friday.

Jennifer Rudemyer, 39, had applied to purchase the handgun Aug. 28, but wasn’t able to get it until a criminal background check had been completed, the release said.

The following week — on the day Dr. Gaston Perez was wounded and Rudemyer died — she returned to the merchant, picked up the handgun and bought ammunition, the release said.

“At the time of the handgun purchase there was nothing prohibiting Rudemyer from lawfully purchasing and possessing a handgun,” the release said.

Perez, 60, was shot multiple times Tuesday evening in the Spanish Wells Plantation neighborhood.

Perez — who was flown to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah for treatment — was in stable condition as of Friday afternoon, according to the release.

A neighbor heard a gunshot and witnessed the double shooting around 6:15 p.m. on Widewater Road, said Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Bob Bromage previously.

A series of reports made to the Sheriff’s Office and Bluffton Police Department showed a troubling pattern of behavior between the couple, and Perez was granted a restraining order hours before being shot.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 5:52 PM.