A woman left a Florida hotel and told staff she was going on a God-ordained shooting spree because of the situation. solar eclipsethen shot two drivers on Interstate 10 before being arrested and charged with attempted murder Monday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, of Georgia, entered the highway 115 miles from the Alabama border in the Florida Panhandle and headed west. She was driving a purple Dodge Challenger with Georgia license plates, officials said.
Within a 5-mile radius, she fired multiple shots at a passing car, shattering windows and grazing the driver’s arm, the department said in a statement.
She then fired at a second vehicle, hitting the driver in the neck. The driver was injured and treated in hospital.
Florida Highway Patrol
Officers stopped the woman after she drove about 16 miles and found her with an AR-15 rifle and a 9mm handgun. She was arrested and booked into the Holmes County Jail. She was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and improper discharge of a firearm.
The Florida Highway Patrol did not provide details on Celestine’s bail or legal representation.
Florida was not affected by the total solar eclipse path of totalitybut millions of people watched the eclipse as it spread across part of the country.
Although authorities have not warned of an expected increase in crime during the eclipse, experts have warned that the rare event could cause an increase in fatal car crashes.
The United States experienced a temporary but substantial increase in fatal car crashes during the previous total solar eclipse in North America in 2017, researchers said in a letter published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. It is unclear whether there were any fatalities related to Monday’s eclipse.
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