NASHVILLE, TN – An 18-year-old college student from New Jersey is bravely fighting for her life after being tragically caught in the crossfire of a shooting near her Nashville campus. Jillian Ludwig, a freshman at Belmont University, was found in a critical condition in the Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park approximately one hour after the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon.
Shaquille Taylor, 29, has been arrested in connection to the shooting. He reportedly opened fire on a vehicle from a public housing complex across the street, and a stray bullet hit Ludwig in the back of her head. Subsequent to the incident, Taylor handed off the suspected firearm to another individual.
This is not Taylor’s first run-in with the law. He has been charged in relation to other shootings in the past, but was released earlier this year after being deemed unfit for trial. Taylor was also arrested in a grocery store parking lot for possession of a carjacked vehicle and granted a $20,000 bond, to which he did not adhere.
Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk criticized the Tennessee law which grants authority for when a person can be involuntarily committed, underlining the necessity for change in order to ensure public safety.
Ludwig, whose family has arrived in Nashville to be by her side, fondly remembered as a music lover and bass player studying business at the private Christian school.