‘The state of Tennessee is to blame’: Mom of Belmont student shooter’s previous victim speaks out
“And you know what the DA’s Office told me?” she added. “Oh, you should be happy that he stayed in custody for two years.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Madison mom is wondering how a man got out of jail after he almost killed her daughter and two grandkids. That same man is accused of shooting Jillian Ludwig, a Belmont freshman who died last week after she was shot in the head at an Edgehill park.
It was on Dickerson Pike, Metro Nashville police said Shaquille Taylor shot at Shayla Workman who was driving her two kids in the back seat two years ago.
“I got a call from the friend that she was dropping off telling me ‘Mama, they are shooting at Shayla, they are shooting at Shayla,’” said Nakeda Kirby. “And you could hear the shots. I could hear the shots. My heart dropped.”
Kirby is Workman’s mom. She said the damage, two bullet holes in the car, happened in broad daylight. Her daughter and grandkids now have PTSD from the incident. Taylor was charged with aggravated assault and was in custody for two years but was let go before his trial after a doctor deemed him incompetent.
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“I didn’t even know he had been released,” said Kirby. “I saw Shaquille driving down my street is how I knew he was released.”
“And you know what the DA’s Office told me?” she added. “Oh, you should be happy that he stayed in custody for two years.”
“Did you even know incompetency was even a thing?” asked WSMV4′s Marissa Sulek.
“Nope,” said Kirby. “Not until she told me that was the card he was going to play.”
In a court order, doctors said Taylor had an intellectual disability and language impairment. His mom also testified he functioned at the kindergarten level — therefore, he was unfit to understand the trial process.
“He was competent enough to stand trial, do probation, violate the probation, go do something else, violate that probation, all the way to murder,” said Kirby. “So, what’s the charge going to be now?”
Months later he is now accused of shooting 18-year-old Ludwig.
“And that state of Tennessee is to blame,” said Kirby. “The judge is to blame.”
Taylor is currently in police custody. The DA’s office said they are waiting for a grand jury to possibly modify his charges now that Ludwig is dead.
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