Cop Pulls Over to Help Out Crash Victim — Discovers Nurse, 26, Fatally Shot While Driving to Work
Facebook Caitlyn Kaufman
A Nashville nurse on her way to work this week was shot and killed while driving on the freeway.
Caitlyn Marie Kaufman, 26, was driving her Mazda CX-5 SUV to her 7 p.m. shift at St. Thomas West Hospital Thursday night when someone opened fire on her vehicle, Nashville police said in a press release Friday.
Kaufman was traveling on I-440 west at the time, and her car came to a rest on the shoulder of the freeway between the Hillsboro Pike and West End Avenue exits, according to police. Shortly before 9 p.m., a Metro Parks officer stopped to check on the car, reportedly thinking it was a single-car crash, and found that Kaufman had been shot.
According to a dispatch recording obtained by NBC News, the car had bullet holes in it and was still running when the officer found it.
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Nashville Metro Police Department Caitlyn Kaufman's car
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While the officer called for assistance, Kaufman died on the scene.
Investigators currently believe that Kaufman had been running on time for her 7 p.m. shift, and that the shooting took place sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Police Captain Tyler Chandler of nearby town Mt. Juliet urged anyone with information to share it with the Nashville police.
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"Horrible. My prayers go out to her family and all her loved ones," Chandler wrote on Twitter. "If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you think it may be, please let @MNPDNashville know. Sometimes the smallest bit of information helps solve a case."
According to her Facebook profile, Kaufman had been working at St. Thomas West Hospital since December 2018, and was originally from Chicora, Pennsylvania.
No suspects have been named in the shooting, and details remain sparse as detectives investigate. Anyone with information on the shooting is encouraged to call 615-742-7463.
