The parents of an 18-year-old freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennesseee, who was killed when a stray bullet struck her in the head in 2023 are suing multiple people and entities after their daughter was left dying on a sidewalk for about an hour.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed in Davidson County says Jillian Ludwig, 18, “was killed in a shooting that was made possible by the multiple combined acts of negligence and recklessness committed by the Defendants here in Davidson County, Tennessee.”

The defendants include the city of Nashville, the state of Tennessee, the Nashville Metro Development and Housing Agency (MDHA), Belmont University, state or city employees who examined shooting suspect Shaquille Latrelle Taylor’s mental health, a gun supplier that sold a firearm to Taylor and others.

Ludwig “was considered by many music professionals to be a budding star” at the time of her death, the lawsuit states. She played six instruments, was a member of three bands and performed at well-known venues in Nashville. 

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“Jillian loved her family and friends, and she was a radiant and talented young woman with a bright future ahead of her,” the suit says.

The lawsuit goes on to detail a series of alleged failures that led Taylor, who had previously been deemed incompetent to stand trial in a separate criminal case prior to Ludwig’s death, to illegally possess a firearm that he discharged in the area where the 18-year-old was running on Nov. 7, 2023.

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Jessica Thorn Ludwig, right, said she does not want “any other parents to live through this nightmare that we’re going through.” (Family handout)

That day, Ludwig was jogging on a track in Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park, just northeast of Belmont’s campus, between classes around 2:20 p.m., when she was struck by gunfire that was allegedly intended for another target, the Nashville Police Department said at the time.

Nashville police arrested repeat offender Taylor, 29, in connection with the shooting that left Ludwig initially hospitalized in critical condition before she was pronounced dead on Nov. 8.

In March, a grand jury indicted Taylor, who had an extensive criminal history, on multiple counts, including first-degree murder, felony weapons possession with criminal intent, five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment. 

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Shaquille Taylor was indicted on multiple charges in connection with Jillian Ludwig’s death. (MMetropolitan Nashville Police Department)

The suspect had previously been accused of shooting a Nashville teenager in the chest and shooting a pregnant Nashville woman while she was with her two children. Her injuries led to the miscarriage of her unborn child, the complaint notes.

Taylor “recklessly discharged a .40-caliber firearm” in the Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park area while Ludwig was running, striking the 18-year-old musician in the head.

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“Jillian lay bleeding at this location…in plain view, in broad daylight, for over an hour before she was found by police and provided medical attention,” the complaint states.

A criminal affidavit states that Shaquille Taylor was allegedly aiming toward a target named “Lil Greg,” who was driving in the area when the suspect allegedly shot in his direction, where Jillian Ludwig was walking at the same time. (Family handout)

Ludwig’s father, Matthew Ludwig, previously told Fox News Digital that the shooting “was entirely preventable.”

“And the laws in place failed,” he said in November 2023.

“They protect the criminals and not the innocent victims.”

— Jessica Ludwig, November 2023

The lawsuit argues that Belmont University knew or should have known to alert students that the area where Ludwig had been running was unsafe, as they had issued “other security warnings … to students in other less dangerous areas.”

Belmont University said there is little the school can say regarding the pending litigation, but the university did say in a statement that its “entire campus shares in the continued grief of Jillian’s death,” and the community has been and remains “deeply committed to the safety” of its students.

Jillian Ludwig’s family says laws need to change so that repeat offenders who are deemed incompetent to stand trial are not immediately released from custody. (Family handout)

The complaint also alleges the Nashville MDHA, which owned the apartment complex where Taylor, a felon, allegedly fired his illegally possessed weapon, had a duty to “ensure that Taylor was not using a handgun” on its property, shooting into the park where Ludwig was running.

The metro housing agency said it could not comment on pending litigation, and the Nashville Department of Law, which handles legal requests relating to the Nashville government, said it will have no comment on this case until the case is resolved.

The lawsuit further names Jenny Matthai, Dr. Michael Loftin and Dr. Mary Jane Wood, with the Tennessee government, as defendants, alleging the three medical experts had “conflicting evaluations” that determined Taylor was too incompetent to stand trial yet not so incompetent that he qualified to be held in involuntary confinement for past crimes prior to the shooting that killed Ludwig. 

Jillian Ludwig’s parents said that while she had always done well in school, she was most passionate about playing and studying music. (Family handout)

Taylor, therefore, was allowed “to go free from both criminal prosecution and involuntary confinement causing substantial risk of physical harm to Jillian,” the complaint says.

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“Said Defendants further knew while Taylor was in their custody and control that he had a specific history of violence and gun violence. Further, said Defendants knew or should have known in the exercise of sound professional judgment that Taylor would likely harm others if released,” the lawsuit says of Matthai, Loftin and Wood.

The Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

Belmont University President Dr. Greg Jones addressed Jillian Ludwig’s death in an email to students and staff. (Instagram)

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said his “heart still aches for Jillian Ludwig, her family, and the entire Belmont community” in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Last year, we collectively grieved such senseless gun violence. I remain inspired by the incredible strength of the Belmont community as they collectively grieved Jillian’s passing, and I hope that the Ludwig family feels our support,” O’Connell said. “We continue to look for effective solutions to reduce gun violence in our community.”

The Ludwigs’ attorneys were not commenting on the case at the time of publication out of respect for the family.

Matthew Ludwig previously told Fox News Digital in 2023 that until laws change, “this could happen to anyone.” And in April 2023, the Ludwig family was successful in doing just that with the passage of Jillian’s law, which requires defendents who are deemed incompetent to stand trial to be housed in the appropriate mental health facility.

The law also requires defendents who are determined to be incompetent to stand trial to be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System so that they cannot purchase firearms. 

FIRST ON FOX — Dozens of former Justice Department (DOJ) officials sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday urging confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, later this month— praising both her commitment to the rule of law and her track record as Florida’s former attorney general that they said makes her uniquely qualified for the role.

The letter, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, was signed by more than 110 senior Justice Department officials who served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, including former U.S. attorneys general John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr and Edwin Meese. 

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, deputy attorneys general Rod Rosenstein and Jeffrey Rosen, and Randy Grossman, who served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California under the Biden administration, are among the other notable signatories. 

The DOJ alumni expressed their “strong and enthusiastic support” for Bondi, Florida’s former attorney general, who also spent 18 years as a prosecutor in the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office.

“It is all too rare for senior Justice Department officials—much less Attorneys General—to have such a wealth of experience in the day-to-day work of keeping our communities safe,” they wrote.

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“As a career prosecutor, Attorney General Bondi will be ready from the first day on the job to fight on behalf of the American people to reduce crime, tackle the opioid crisis, back the women and men in blue, and restore credibility to the Department of Justice,” they wrote in the letter sent to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

The letter praised Bondi’s work as Florida’s attorney general, where she led an aggressive crackdown on opioid drugs and the many “pill mills” operating in the state when she took office. They also praised what they described as Bondi’s “national reputation” for her work to end human trafficking, and prosecuting violent crime in the state.

Officials also emphasized Bondi’s other achievements in Florida, where she secured consumer protection victories and economic relief on behalf of residents in the Sunshine State. After the 2008 financial crisis, her work leading the National Mortgage Settlement resulted in $56 billion in compensation to victims, the letter said — and in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bondi’s lawsuit against BP and other companies responsible resulted in a $2 billion settlement in economic relief.

The letter also stressed Bondi’s commitment to the rule of law, and what the former officials touted as her track record of working across the aisle during the more than two decades she spent as a prosecutor. 

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Pam Bondi, former Florida attorney general, arrives to speak during the Republican National Convention at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Some of us have worked directly with Attorney General Bondi during her time in office and can personally attest to her integrity and devotion to the rule of law,” they wrote. “Many more of us know and admire her well-earned reputation from her long and accomplished career in government service in Florida, her litigation and advocacy on the national stage, and her demonstrated courage as a lawyer.”

“As former DOJ officials, we know firsthand the challenges she will face as Attorney General, and we also know she is up to the job.”

Those close to Bondi have praised her long record as a prosecutor, and her staunch loyalty to the president-elect, alongside whom she has worked since 2020—first, helping to represent him in his first impeachment trial, and, more recently, in her post as co-chair of the Center for Law and Justice at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) a think tank set up by former Trump staffers.

She also served in Trump’s first presidential term as a member of his Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission.

Bondi’s former colleagues have told Fox News Digital they expect her to bring the same playbook she used in Florida to Washington—this time with an eye to cracking down on drug trafficking, illicit fentanyl use, and the cartels responsible for smuggling the drugs across the border. 

“We firmly believe the Justice Department and the Nation will benefit from Attorney General Bondi’s leadership,” the DOJ officials  said in conclusion, adding: “We urge you in the strongest manner possible to confirm her as the next Attorney General of the United States.”

Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is calling on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, in the wake of a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans. 

“This is no time to play around.  Which is why I am also calling on Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to allow Kristi Noem to get to work on Day 1 as our Secretary of Homeland Security. There should be no gap in leadership. In the wake of the Bourbon Street and Las Vegas attacks, our nation’s security depends on her quick confirmation,” Landry said in a statement Monday. 

Early on New Year’s Day, chaos broke out on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as revelers partied on the streets in celebration of the holiday. The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is accused of ramming a truck into the crowd on the beloved and famed party street, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens of others. Jabbar, who was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, was killed after opening fire on police. 

Landry’s office said the Republican governor is expected to meet with President Biden on Monday, when he will press the commander in chief to issue a Presidential Disaster Declaration following the attack. 

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“I look forward to speaking with President Biden today on quickly approving my request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration,” he continued. 

Landry previously sent a letter to Biden detailing the need for the declaration as the city prepares to manage other massive public events this year, including the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, following the terrorist attack.  

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“This terrorist attack has caused significant harm to our visitors and residents, disrupted essential services, and overwhelmed local and state resources during a time when the city is host to several large-scale events, including the Sugar Bowl and related activities, as well as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras in coming weeks. The Super Bowl and Mardi Gras will bring in tourists from around the world and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated Super Bowl LIX as a Special Event Planning Assessment (“SEAR”) Level 1,” Landry wrote in his letter to Biden on Jan. 2. 

Military personnel walk down Bourbon Street on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Trump announced South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his pick to lead the DHS, which oversees key national security and law enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, last year after his win over Vice President Kamala Harris. 

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Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies work the scene on Bourbon Street after at least 14 people were killed when a person allegedly drove into the crowd in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day on Jan. 1, 2025 in New Orleans. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)

Landry urging Senate lawmakers to support Noem as DHS chief in the wake of the terrorist attack follows law enforcement groups and leaders from across the nation also throwing their support behind the Trump candidate, urging lawmakers to quickly confirm her to the role. 

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Former President Donald Trump greets South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem at the South Dakota Republican Party Monumental Leaders rally on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Rapid City, South Dakota. (AP Photo/Toby Brusseau)

At least eight police groups or unions have issued letters to Sen. Rand Paul, who sits on the committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, urging the Senate to confirm Noem in order to bolster national security, including to combat the immigration crisis along the southern border, as well as stem the flow of deadly narcotics coming across the border.