NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man arrested for shooting a Belmont University student was previously deemed incompetent to stand trial according to the Nashville District Attorney's Office.
Belmont freshman 18-year-old Jillian Ludwig remains in very critical condition after she was shot in the head while walking on a track in the Edgehill Memorial Gardens Park on Tuesday afternoon. Metro Nashville Police said they believe the shots came from the Metro Housing and Development Agency housing across the street. She wasn't discovered until an hour later.
Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, police identified Shaquille Taylor, 29, as the suspect. He was taken into custody at 10 p.m. Tuesday. He is charged with aggravated assault and evidence tampering. Police said Taylor was shooting at a passing car when a bullet hit Ludwig in the head as she was walking.
"He admitted to firing shots during an interview with detectives at police headquarters," authorities with Nashville police said. "He claimed to have given the gun involved to another person."
Police said MDHA cameras from the nearby public housing caught the shooting.
Taylor was last arrested Sept. 21, according to police. He was driving in a grocery store parking lot in a truck that had been previously carjacked by two men in ski masks on Sept. 16. He was charged with felony auto theft and was subsequently released on bond. He failed to appear in court on that charge last Friday. The court issued a failure to appear warrant.
In August 2021, Taylor was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon but those charges were dropped earlier this year.
"Three court-appointed doctors unanimously testified that Mr. Taylor was incompetent to stand trial. State and federal law prohibit prosecution of persons found to be incompetent, so therefore Judge Angelita Dalton was mandated to dismiss the case. Because the doctors did not find Mr. Taylor met the standards for involuntary commitment, he was released from custody on May 19," per a statement from the Davidson County District Attorney's office said,
Court records show Taylor has an intellectual disability and is not competent to stand trial. His mother testified in court that he developed pneumonia at birth which led to a brain infection. According to his mother, he was diagnosed with an intellectual disability, graduated with a special education diploma, and still functions at a kindergarten level.
Mayor Freddie O'Connell said his heart aches for Ludwig's family and the entire Belmont University community.
"Belmont has stood with Nashville so many times, and today we stand with them," O'Connell said. "Doctors have previously deemed the suspected shooter to be incompetent to stand trial. Unfortunately, our criminal legal system and limited mental health access left a dangerous individual both untreated and legally armed. Tennessee needs more beds for individuals experiencing mental health crises and a renewed conversation about how we limit access to firearms for individuals we know are a threat to the community."
NewsChannel 5 does not have it confirmed whether or not Taylor was legally armed, as the statement above suggests.
However, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has been looking into Tennessee's broken mental health system and how this case is played out. We will have more on that coming up later today.
Currently, Taylor is being held in the Davidson County Jail on a $280,000 bond.
NewsChannel 5 will continue to cover this case throughout the day.
