Nashville nurse Caitlyn Kaufman fatally shot while driving on I-440
A 26-year-old Nashville nurse was fatally shot as she drove down Interstate 440 westbound between Hillsboro Pike and West End Avenue on Thursday night, Metro Nashville police said.
Police on Friday identified the woman as Caitlyn Kaufman.
Detectives believe the shooting happened sometime between 6 and 6:30 p.m. while Kaufman was on her way to work at St. Thomas West Hospital for a shift that began at 7 p.m., police said.
Just before 9 p.m., a Metro Parks officer said he saw her Mazda CX-5 SUV on the right shoulder of I-440 against the guard rail and stopped, believing it was a single-car crash. Police said he then discovered bullets were fired into the car.
Kaufman died at the scene, MNPD said.
Her death marked the 97th criminal homicide in the city so far this year.
According to her Facebook page, Kaufman worked in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Thomas, lives in Lebanon and is formerly from Chicora, Pennsylvania, a small town in Butler County, 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
“Out of respect for the victims family and Nashville police’s efforts to solve this crime, we will not provide a statement at this time since there is an ongoing investigation,” Michelle Heard, a spokeswoman for the hospital told The Tennessean Friday morning.
Anyone traveling on I-440 Thursday evening who noticed anything unusual is asked is call 615-742-7463. MNPD Detective Chris Dickerson is working to develop leads with a team of investigators.
This is a developing story.
Find reporter Rachel Wegner at rawegner@tennessean.com or on Twitter @rachelannwegner.
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