NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There will be a special ceremony on Saturday at the park where Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig was shot and killed in Edgehill last fall.
Organizers plan to plant a memorial tree and dedicate it to Jillian to reclaim the park as a safe and beautiful place to be.
18-year-old Jillian was hit by a stray bullet when she was walking at the Edgehill Memorial Gardens Park, which is part of the William Edmondson Homesite Park where the tree dedication will take place later this morning.
The loss shook the Belmont University community, and Nashville as a whole, to its core, raising questions about how safe is it to simply enjoy a nice day at a park.
Jillian is described by family and friends as being a talented musician who had an infectious laugh, a passionate soul, and a bright four years ahead at Belmont University taken away too soon.
The shooter, 29-year-old Shaquille Taylor, is due in court for a competency hearing on May 1.
Taylor had previous criminal charges against him but was deemed by a judge incompetent to stand trial for those charges. He was back on the streets when he fired his gun out of his car and killed Jillian.
A proposed bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly now — named the Jillian Ludwig Law — would stop someone who has been deemed incompetent to stand trial from being able to purchase or own guns. The bill is on both the House and Senate's calendars for Monday. Her parents hope the bill passes so their daughter did not die in vain.
If you would like to attend the tree dedication in honor of Jillian, it will start at 11 a.m., at the William Edmondson Homesite Park at 1400 14th Ave. S. in Edgehill.
There will be a blessing of the park led by clergy, and remarks made by local leaders and friends of Jillian. Then a blessing walk will take place.
This ceremony will be hosted by the Friends of the William Edmondson Homesite Park and Gardens, Organized Neighbors of Edgehill, Edgehill Family Group, Belmont University, and Midtown MNPD.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
