WOMAN GOES ON SHOOTING SPREE; SAYS GOD INSTRUCTED HER TO DO SO TO CELEBRATE THE ECLIPSE
Following the solar eclipse witnessed by people across America, a woman named Taylon Nichelle Celestine has been arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol and charged with attempted murder, for shooting interstate drivers, according to the news release by the department. The suspect was driving a purple Dodge Challenger with Georgia plates after checking out from a hotel, and after driving around five miles into the interstate, she went on a shooting spree and targeted a random vehicle as part of the attack. She did not have any prior connection to the driver, who she had just located right before firing shots at him. It turns out that she had informed the staff of the hotel where she was staying that god had directed her to go on the shooting spree in order to commemorate the solar eclipse.
She shot multiple bullets in the car driving past her on the interstate, and the driver was taken aback after he was struck by "glass fragments" from the window. He was also grazed on his arm by the bullets, but despite all the havoc, the motorist was able to hold his composure and steered his vehicle onto the shoulder of the road. The woman left him and his vehicle when they were not visible anymore, but losing sight of her first target did not make her stop her rampage. She shot at another vehicle near the 107-mile marker and this time a bullet hit the neck of the driver. The driver was immediately taken to the hospital for further treatment.
Washington County Communications went to work immediately when someone reported that a driver was "shooting into other vehicles" on the interstate. The Facebook post made by Holmes County Sheriff's Office shared that a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol was the first to locate the suspect. Celestine was exiting the interstate in Ponce de Leon at that time and was heading toward the rest area.
The troopers responding to reports were provided with all the required information and they soon spotted the car near the 96-mile marker and conducted a felony traffic stop. The officers discovered "an AR-15 and a 9mm handgun within the purple Challenger that Celestine was driving. Additional HCSO and WCSO investigators were brought to the scene to canvas the area between Bonifay and Ponce de Leon to locate other possible victims. There was no additional damage caused by the woman apart from the injuries to the two drivers she shot at. One of them has been medically cleared while the other is still receiving treatment, while Celestine was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Holmes County Jail. The authorities have charged her with, "Attempted Murder, Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon and Improper Discharge of Firearm."
The probe into the shootout is still an ongoing investigation and any additional information will be released by the Florida Highway Patrol in due time. The County Sheriff's Office thanked both HCSO and WCSO communications centers for their prompt work in the case.