A local man is offering up a substantial reward in the hopes of finding the person or persons responsible for the death of a 26-year-old Nashville nurse. Caitlyn Kaufman was shot and killed last week as she drove along Interstate 440 to begin her shift at St. Thomas West Hospital.
According to Metro Nashville police, a local man offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whomever killed Kaufman on December 3. The donor wishes to remain anonymous.
Kaufman worked as a nurse in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. She was on her way to work a 7 p.m. shift when someone fired multiple shots into her vehicle around 6:05 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. She was fatally shot near her left shoulder, according to a medical examiner, and died within 15 seconds. Shortly before 9 p.m., police found Kaufman deceased inside her SUV on the westbound side of I-440.
Kaufman's mother, Diane, said her daughter was living her dream of being a nurse in Nashville. On Monday, she issued a plea for anyone who knows what happened to come forward and help provide closure.
"She was on her way to work to help other people," she said. "All I'm asking is that the Nashville community that she loved so much come together and help [find] who killed her."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Kaufman's family with funeral expenses. As of Tuesday, it has raised more than $30,000.
Police ask that anyone with information on the incident or anyone driving along I-440 around that time contact call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME or submit a tip online here.
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