NASHVILLE, TENN. (CBS NEWS) – An 18-year-old Tennessee college student who was hit by a stray bullet while walking near Belmont University campus died overnight Wednesday, according to Metro Nashville Police.
Jillian Ludwig, of New Jersey, was walking on a track in a local park when she was shot in the head and critically wounded at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to police.
They arrested Shaquille Taylor, 29, after surveillance video and witness statements pointed to him as the shooter. Video showed Ludwig falling as Taylor fired at a nearby car, according to a police affidavit.
A passerby discovered Ludwig, 18, on the ground about an hour later, and she was transported to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Taylor was shooting at a car when a bullet hit Ludwig in the head as she walked on a track in a park across the street,” police said on social media when announcing the arrest Wednesday.
Before Ludwig’s death, Taylor was charged with aggravated assault and evidence tampering and was being held on a $280,000 bond. A public defender assigned to Taylor’s case did not return phone and email messages requesting comment.
Taylor has been charged criminally several times in the past. In 2021, Taylor was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon after he and another man were accused of shooting at a female driver while her two children were in the back seat. At least two rounds struck the vehicle.
Earlier this year, a Nashville judge dismissed those charges, and Taylor was released after court-appointed doctors testified that he was incompetent to stand trial. Federal and state law prohibit the prosecution of mentally incompetent defendants.
The May 19 court order explained that Taylor had developed pneumonia at birth, which led to a brain infection, and that he continues to function at a kindergarten level. Because Taylor also did not meet the…
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