Authorities have confirmed the death of a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, who was walking in a park about a mile from the campus when she was struck by a stray bullet at the back of her head.
After being discovered unconscious at 3:30 PM local time on Tuesday, November 7, at Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park, 18-year-old Jillian Ludwig was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. It had been an hour since she had been shot in the head.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed her death on Thursday morning, November 9.
Sympathies Sent to Victim and Family
After hearing the news on Thursday, Belmont University President Greg Jones emailed the whole university community.
"This is a lot for us all to process. We grapple now with grief, anger, anxiety, and a strong sense of fear in the face of senseless violence," he wrote in the letter, as reported by USA Today.
Friends of the William Edmondson Homesite Park and Gardens, who are responsible for the maintenance of the park where Ludwig was shot, have expressed their sympathies to her family and expressed gratitude to the police for their swift action in making an arrest on Thursday.
"We recognize that there is no single, simple solution to the complex problem of rising gun violence. We call on all of our Metro and state elected officials to make an urgent priority of addressing this crisis with common-sense gun safety and criminal justice reform legislation that would promote safety in all of our communities," it stated.
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How the Law Seems To Be In Favor of the Suspect
Shaquille Taylor, 29, was apprehended and charged with aggravated assault and evidence tampering after a confidential informant, surveillance footage, and an apparent confession all pointed to him as the shooter on Tuesday.
They believe Taylor was aiming at another vehicle when he accidentally shot Ludwig.
According to a statement released Wednesday, November 8, by Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk, Taylor was first charged with aggravated assault back in April.
Funk said the suspect did not fulfill the state's requirements for involuntary commitment, and physicians agreed that he lacked the mental capacity to stand trial.
Notably, the standard for involuntary commitment is a finding by two doctors that a patient has a severe mental disease that puts him or her or others in considerable danger of serious harm.
"This nearly impossible standard impacts public safety," Funk said, criticizing the law, as reported by CBS News. "The law must be altered to accurately balance individual needs with public safety. At the same time, Tennessee must provide more beds and staffing resources to handle dangerous individuals."
In May, Taylor was given bail and allowed to go free.
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