A Georgia woman told police she was “directed by ‘God’” to open fire on a Florida interstate highway “in relation to the solar eclipse” on Monday.
Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, checked out of a local hotel, allegedly telling staff when she did she intended to go on a shooting spree, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The staff alerted dispatchers to the threats, WTVY reported. Shortly after that initial call, dispatchers received calls that someone was shooting at cars on Interstate 10 in Holmes County, about half way between Pensacola and Tallahassee on the Florida panhandle.
The suspect was traveling westbound on the highway in an easily spotted purple Dodge Challenger with Georgia plates, the state police said.
She hit one vehicle multiple times, with glass fragments striking the driver. A bullet grazed his arm, but he steered onto the shoulder away from the crazed shooter.
Celestine fired at another vehicle as she travelled west, hitying the driver in the neck. She was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Troopers finally stopped her near the 96-mile marker, less than 10 miles from where she entered the highway, and recovered an AR-15 and a 9mm handgun from the car.
Celestine has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and improper discharge of a firearm.
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[Featured image: Vehicle struck by gunfire/Florida Highway Patrol. Taylon Nichelle Celestine/Holmes County Sheriff’s Office]
