Services Set For NJ College Student Jillian Ludwig, Killed In Shooting

WALL, NJ — Final services for Jillian Ludwig have been set for this week, according to the Orender Family Home.

Ludwig was a college freshman and recent Wall High School graduate who was fatally struck by a stray bullet as she walked in a park in Nashville last Tuesday afternoon. She attended college there.

Visitation is planned for Thursday, Nov. 16, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Orender Family Home for Funerals, 2643 Old Bridge Road, Manasquan, Orender posted on its website.

On Friday, Nov, 17, a funeral service will be held at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark's Catholic Church, 215 Crescent Parkway, Sea Girt. An interment service is planned for 11 a.m. at Atlantic View Cemetery, 49 Forest Ave., Manasquan, according to the funeral home.

Ludwig was a musician and was studying music and business at Belmont University in Nashville.

Still in high school, she often performed free sets in Shore-area music spots to raise money for needy musicians in the "Play It Forward" program.

Now a GoFundMe site has been set up to honor her and to continue her own desire to give back: "Honor Jillian Ludwig: A Legacy of Music and Love."

"In loving memory of Jillian Ludwig, whose brilliant smile and infinite enthusiasm brought light into our lives, we are asking for donations to help the family with medical and funeral expenses and other endeavors they are considering in order to honor their beautiful daughter with projects in her name to further her desire to give back," according to the site.

"Jillian’s life was a symphony of joy and love that was tragically cut short as a brilliant student, musician, and, most importantly, an irreplaceable part of our family," the site says.

The site has raised more than $117,000 of a $50,000 goal.

According to the Belmont Vision, the student news outlet at her university, her roommate mourned for her and remembered her as strong - and funny.

“She was full of passion and energy, creativity, and a little bit of sass. She was strong, stronger than anyone I’ve met. Not to mention hilarious,” said Ludwig's roommate, Livia Mehalovich, in Belmont Vision.

Belmont’s campus has been in mourning, holding prayer vigils and a memorial in front of the Bell Tower organized by Ludwig's friends, the student news outlet said.

And the Wall community also gathered last week in vigils for Ludwig, a 2023 Wall High School graduate, and to share their grief.

"Jillian will remain in our hearts as she lived — vibrant, loving, musically gifted, adventurous, loyal and kind," Wall Board of Education President Christine Steitz said. "She was often a fixture at school and local gatherings, sharing her gift of song, elevating special events with her musicianship and spirit of fellowship."

Ludwig's parents spoke out about the death of their daughter Friday, telling "Good Morning America" that her death has been "hard to comprehend."

In the interview, Jessica and Matt Ludwig said their daughter was "thriving" before her death.

"There's a piece of my heart that was taken from me," Jessica Ludwig said during the interview. "And I don't know how to feel that."

Police in Nashville have confirmed Ludwig died Nov. 9, two days after a bullet from a nearby shooting struck her while she walked on a track in Nashville's Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park.

Shaquille Taylor, 29, has been charged with aggravated assault and evidence tampering in connection with the shooting and remains in custody. Authorities said Taylor shot at a car from a public housing complex across the street from the park. A stray bullet from that action struck Ludwig in the head, police said last week.

Nashville police said Thursday the charges were sent to a grand jury and that any modified charges would come over the next few weeks. There had been a warrant issued for Taylor the Friday before the shooting in an unrelated matter when he did not appear in court.

Police records indicate Taylor has been charged criminally in the past, including another instance in which he was charged in 2021, with another person, for shooting at a car, according to reports from Associated Press cited in a past Patch article.

Earlier this year, a Nashville judge dismissed those charges, and Taylor was released after court-appointed doctors testified that he was incompetent to stand trial, the reports said.

Ludwig's parents, in the television interview, also called for change as information such as this is revealed.

"A repeat criminal who's deemed to have mental health issues should be dealt with in a facility or in some way that deals with those issues," Matt Ludwig said in the interview. "The answer should not be to release him back into the streets."