Bethany Wilson: Tennessee mom accused of carjacking arrested after using child, 4, as shield while firing
CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE: A mother in Tennessee was arrested after she stole three cars, carjacked a victim, and fired a gun at her while using her five-year-old child as a shield. Police were looking for Bethany Wilson, 24, after she carjacked several persons, starting with a 51-year-old woman, on Thursday, December 22 at about 4:40 pm in a Clarksville mini-mart, Tennessee.
At 5:16 pm, Wilson held a woman at gunpoint as she refilled the gas in her Nissan Juke before escaping and carjacking a second victim. According to the second victim, Wilson fired at him while using a child as a shield, then seized his black Mercedes Benz at gunpoint.
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Wilson last stole a Ford, which she later crashed on I-24 around mile marker 16, according to the police. She then departed the scene and checked into an inn. It is unknown whether anyone was harmed in the incident. Police were looking for Wilson until approximately 11 pm when they received information that she was at the local Days Inn off exit 11 after stealing a Ford F-150 that had been involved in a crash, as reported by Daily Mail.
Wilson was arrested by police at the inn, and her child was safely recovered. Police were able to find the cars Wilson stole before she abandoned them to look for more victims. Wilson's motives for his spate of carjackings are still unknown. However, she was accused and charged with aggravated robbery and carjacking. Wilson is being kept in custody at the Montgomery County Jail under a $20,000 bond.
According to recent data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, crime has been down for the fourth year in a row in Clarksville despite the city's continued population growth, as reported by Clarksville Now. According to the TBI 2021 Crime in Tennessee report, even though Clarksville added over 3,100 extra residents, crime rates and offenses have continued to fall, with about 700 fewer crimes reported in 2021 (12,769) compared to 2020 (13,455). The number of significant crimes reported per 1,000 residents in Clarksville decreased from 83.48 in 2020 to 77.7 in 2021. That represents a significant drop from 2017 when the crime rate was 106.04. As a result of the increase in population during that time, Casey Williams, a communications expert with the City of Clarksville, says that is even more noteworthy.
However, according to FBI statistics, Tennessee ranks third in the nation for violent crime. As per WKRN, violence-related acts like robberies, serious assaults, and homicides are all far too common in Tennessee. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released new data that highlights the issue in Tennessee.