A Louisiana mother-of-two was shot in the head and killed on Sunday while driving home from a campaign event for her relative who is running for Baton Rouge City Court Judge. Due to being shot , the victim, who was identified as Teressa Calligan, then ran into the back of a sheriff's deputy's car.
The car contained both a deputy and a trainee. Both were injured as a result of the crash, reports ABC affiliate WBRZ2 , and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening conditions.
Authorities responded to a call at the intersection of Greenwell St. on Airline highway around 9pm where they found the injured deputies and Calligan.
Baton Rouge police have since revealed that they believe a car pulled up to Calligan and opened fire. Police say that the woman was hit multiple times including in the head. It was also stated that Calligan had just left a campaign event for her relative, Niles Haymer, at Dearman’s Diner.
"We are seeing an increase where we are having road rage incidents, or people that are targeted along the interstate or just major thoroughfares here in the city and they are being struck by gun fire," BRPD Cpl. Sandra Watts said in a statement. "We are learning that some of these are road rage incidents and some are just targeted."
Family members are still unclear about why their relative was killed, though they believe it to be a case of mistaken identity. Many of Calligan's friends are also shocked at their friend's sudden death.
“This is not supposed to happen to her. That's not who she is, what she was,” said Charles Wallace, a bishop at the church that Calligan was a member of. "None of her lifestyle was a reflection of how she was taken out."
According to the Bishop, Calligan always strived to help her community."She has definitely has left a fingerprint on the next generation. We'll always remember her."
Calligan also served as Dean of The Walls Project , a non-profit dedicated to providing teens with tech-based skills. The group also issued a statement about their dear friend's death.
"Losing Teressa Calligan so abruptly has been deeply devastating. She left a legacy of unparalleled kindness to everyone she encountered," they said. "Our organization is honored to have been graced by her devotion, a gift she granted as much as possible to those around her. She will be missed greatly by so many. Our hope is that her memory will spur others to devote themselves so fully to what they love, just as she did.”
Calligan's relative also issued a statement about the senseless violence on Instagram. The
included a photo of the family smiling happily.
"We are overcome with sorrow today. Last night's senseless violence in Baton Rouge claimed the life of @mzzcalli Teressa Calligan, my wife's cousin, business partner, and our friend," Haymer wrote. "This photo, taken less than an hour prior to her tragic passing, now holds immense sentimental value. Her Aunt Mary Haynes in the middle w/ my wife, Shermaine, and I sitting b/c she said we were too tall."
"However, these shootings are happening too often and have become too normalized in Baton Rouge. This is too painful," the post concluded. As of Tuesday, there have been no arrests.
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