Hagen Mills thought he had killed ex before shooting himself in front of his daughter: 'He was obsessed with her'
Actor Hagen Mills thought he had killed his ex-girlfriend, Erica Price, before shooting himself dead in front of their four-year-old daughter, according to Erica's mother who witnessed the tragic incident. The 29-year-old 'Baskets' actor died in an alleged attempted murder-suicide on Tuesday, May 19. Describing the horrifying details of the Tuesday night ordeal, Erica's mother, Tammy Green-Price, told Daily Mail that she was babysitting Mila, the four-year-old daughter of the former couple, when Mills forced his way inside their home in Mayfield, Kentucky, carrying a pistol.
"He knocked on the door. I thought it was my son but when I saw who it was I tried to shut it. He shoved his way in and I saw he had a pistol. He pointed the gun but he said he wasn't going to hurt me, he just wanted to come in and wait. He tied my hands with duct tape. I tried to appease him but it was clear he had lost his mind. Mila was terrified, she was hysterical. I tried to soothe her, to tell her it was going to be ok," Tammy recalled.
She revealed that when Erica came home about 30 minutes later, Mills emerged from hiding and began to beg her for a second chance. "He stepped out so she could see the gun, She told him 'I'll go anywhere, I'll do anything'. Erica was doing everything she could to get him out of there and away from us." Tammy said, "But he grabbed her phone and saw something on it and just said 'oh no'. That's when he raised his gun. He shot her twice from no further than 10 feet away. She collapsed as she ran around the corner but he didn't see her get up as he shot himself immediately."
The 55-year-old woman said "there was blood everywhere" after the shooting. "I thought I was next. But the baby was behind me and my only real thought was to shield her. I somehow managed to nudge her down on the couch then closed my eyes and prepared to die. I heard the gun go off, I heard his body hitting the floor and I finally opened my eyes and realized I was alive," Tammy recalled.
She added that she soon discovered that Erica, an advanced practice nurse, was alive but severely wounded. It was Erica who managed to drag herself into the bedroom and call 911. When police arrived, Erica was soon rushed to a hospital with a gunshot wound to her right arm and a bullet lodged in her chest. However, she is said to be in stable condition on Wednesday, May 20. Mills was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I think he believed she was dead. As soon as she hit the floor, he shot himself. This man was obviously a very troubled soul. I would love to talk about what an awful person he is, but there's no point in that. The important thing is that my daughter is going to be ok. She's stable but in isolation because of Covid-19. She's a beautiful person, she's a very giving, kind soul. She has never bothered anybody," Tammy, a residential assistant nurse, said.
Mills was best known for playing Lucky in Zach Galifianakis' US comedy 'Baskets' and also starred in the show 'Swedish Dicks', a comedy about private investigators. Along with those roles, he also acted in an Indie film called 'Star Light', which was released back in February. In his personal life, according to Tammy, he was a serial domestic abuser, who never left Erica alone even after they parted ways two years ago.
Mills' family has claimed that he had been living in Hollywood for several years, but still had a home in Mayfield. However, Tammy disagreed and said: “He was living in Mayville, Kentucky, of course, he was a failed actor. He's been terrorizing my daughter for months, years actually," alleging Mills couldn't accept the fact that the relationship was over.
"He was obsessed with her. He was stalking her. I don't know how much the police know because she was a very private person. He was driving over to the house to see if she had company, coming here in the middle of the night. He was calling her constantly and showing up at her work," Tammy added. Meanwhile, the Graves County Jail website showed Mills was arrested on several occasions.
In 2016, he was arrested for a DUI, for wanton endangerment in 2017 and second-degree assault in 2018. On March 30, this year, he was again arrested and charged with first-degree rape and sodomy, as well as kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine. However, he was released from jail on May 6 on a $500,000 property bond and $10,000 surety.