Arrest made in death of nurse who was shot while driving to work in Nashville
A 21-year-old man is in custody in connection with the fatal shooting of Nashville nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, Nashville police said on Friday.
Kaufman, 26, was fatally shot while driving to work on a Nashville interstate last week.
Devaunte L. Hill was arrested early Friday morning at his East Nashville apartment, Metro Nashville Police said in a tweet. No details were immediately available.
Hill, 21, faces criminal homicide charges in Kaufman’s death, police said. CNN is attempting to learn whether he has an attorney.
Kaufman was driving to work on December 3 when shots were fired into her Mazda CX-5 SUV on Interstate 440 West, according to Metro Nashville police. A police officer saw Kaufman’s car resting on the right shoulder against a guard rail, and when the officer stopped to check, he discovered she had been shot.
Police said Kaufman died at the scene.
Both investigators and her mother have been looking for answers.
“Why did you do this to her? She didn’t deserve it. I can’t wrap my head around it. I don’t know how someone can take another person’s life like that. She was on her way to work. It wasn’t like she was doing anything maliciously,” said her mother, Diane Kaufman, at a press conference on Monday.
Kaufman was killed by a gunshot wound that entered through her shoulder, Detective Chris Dickson said at the press conference.
Tennessee detectives say Kaufman’s shift as an intensive care unit nurse at St. Thomas West Hospital started at 7 p.m., and they believe she was shot between 6 p.m. and 6:05 p.m.
Kaufman’s mother said the nurse dreamed of working in Nashville.
“She was a very compassionate young lady and had a heart of gold,” she said.
A $65,000 reward was being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect in Murray’s death.
An anonymous coalition of Nashville business owners and entrepreneurs posed a $50,000 reward, according to a tweet on Thursday from Nashville police. A local resident added $5,000 to the reward and another $10,000 was pledged by a local man wishing to remain anonymous, police said.
