The parents of Jillian Ludwig filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Belmont University, the State of Tennessee, and Metro Nashville after the 18-year-old student was fatally shot near the university’s Nashville campus last year.
Ludwig was allegedly shot by Shaquille Taylor, who police say fired a weapon at public housing near Belmont after he was previously released from jail on unrelated firearm charges. Authorities deemed Taylor mentally incompetent, with doctors claiming he has the mental capacity of a small child. Taylor’s former coworker disputed this claim.
The lawsuit claims Ludwig’s death “was made possible by the multiple combined acts of negligence and recklessness,” by the Metro Development and Housing Agency, Nashville Housing Authority, an unknown security company hired for the public housing and a security guard for Belmont, the Nashville government, the State of Tennessee, and Belmont University.
Ludwig’s parents allege Belmont failed to notify students and faculty of the danger posed by the public housing where Ludwig was jogging at the time she was killed, but also that authorities failed to recognize the danger allegedly posed by Taylor’s presence in the community.
Noting Taylor was previously convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated burglary, attempted first degree murder, the lawsuit adds, “Taylor had previously shot a Nashville teenager in the chest and fired shots at a pregnant Nashville woman and her two children, shooting the woman in the upper leg, causing her to miscarry her unborn child.”
Despite this, the lawsuit notes Taylor was found “not competent to stand trial,” but “not so competent that he qualified for involuntary commitment,” and argues the “conflicting evaluations” ultimately allowed Taylor to kill Ludwig.
The lawsuit additionally alleges that security guards failed to adequately search the location after receiving reports of a shooting, allowing Ludwig to lay dying “in a very visibly area,” without aid.
Ludwig’s parents seek for the defendants to pay more than $50 million in damages and for the cost of their attorneys with their lawsuit.
According to WKRN, which obtained the lawsuit on Thursday, Ludwig’s parents have spoken with Tennessee lawmakers to address the lapses they argue preceded their daughter’s death.
Last year, lawmakers passed Jillian’s Law, which involuntarily commits specific criminals to inpatient treatment if they are ruled incompetent to stand trial.
While Taylor was once deemed incompetent to stand trial, he was free on a $10,000 bond at the time of Ludwig’s death in November 2023 after being arrested in September for his alleged role in a carjacking.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jillian Ludwig” and “Shaquille Taylor” by Metro Nashville Police Department.
