Ohio graduate was ordering food from Taco Bell drive-thru. Another driver shot her dead in horror murder-suicide
There is no connection between Jason Williams and Megan Keleman
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A woman was shot and killed while she was picking up food from a Taco Bell drive-thru in Ohio in what police say was a horror murder-suicide.
On Wednesday night, Megan Keleman was in the driver's seat of her car ordering food at a Taco Bell in Stow, when Jason Williams, 53, rammed her car from the rear, the New York Post reported.
Witnesses told police that Williams had begun blaring his horn at Keleman when she pulled into the drive-thru line ahead of him.
Keleman, a 25-year-old recent graduate of Cleveland State University, yelled to a Taco Bell employee to call 911.
At that moment, Stow Police Chief Jeffrey Film said that Williams exited his car and shot and killed Keleman before turning the gun on himself.
They were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Both were identified by the Summit County Medical Examiner's office with Keleman’s death ruled a homicide and Williams' a suicide.
Film told reporters on Thursday that there is currently no known connection between Williams and Keleman.
“As chief of police and a community leader, I would like to say that this is a true tragedy. Not only the Kelemans lost a daughter, but we as a community lost one of our daughters,” he said on Thursday.
Police found that Keleman had called her father in her final moments, believed to be after Williams rammed her car.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive in the attack, and Film said they “may never know why” Williams killed the graduate.
Williams had been indicted on April 14 for improperly handling firearms in a car and for operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the New York Post. He was ultimately released on a $5,000 bond in May and was ordered not to possess any firearms, according to WOIO.
Keleman’s family issued a statement after her death, noting that it was “immensely painful” to endure the loss of their daughter.
“We appreciate the community’s support and hope that our request for privacy will be honored so that we can continue to focus on supporting each other through this difficult period,” the family said in a statement.
Keleman was active on her campus and previously served as the editor-in-chief of the CSU student newspaper The Cauldron.
CSU President Laura Bloomberg issued a statement following the news of Keleman's death.
“We send our deepest sympathies to Megan’s family, friends and loved ones. We have lost a caring, engaged and optimistic member of the CSU community,” she said.
In the US, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1 800 273 8255 or chat online for help.