![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/86874315007-victimlatashataylor-2025.png\"\/)
![\"play\"](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/appservices\/universal-web\/universal\/icons\/icon-play-alt-white.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\nBilyana Garland
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 First Coast News<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Woman remains gracious after Jacksonville shooting paralyzed her<\/p>\n
Latasha Taylor, who’s back home in Callahan, remains gracious while recovering from being shot in the head in February 2025.<\/p>\n
First Coast News<\/p>\n
Eight months after being shot in the head at a Murray Hill intersection<\/a>, a Callahan woman and her family are sharing her story of survival.<\/p>\n Last February, Latasha Taylor\u2019s life changed in an instant. What was supposed to be a simple night out turned into chaos when Jacksonville police<\/a> say she was shot at a stoplight near Post Street and McDuff Avenue in Murray Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bullet, which her husband said hit her in the neck behind her ear, left her paralyzed from the neck down<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI strongly believe in God,\u201d Taylor, who is 42 and goes by Tasha, said. \u201cAnd I know His will will be done for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Her husband, Tony Taylor, remembers doctors warning the family to prepare for the worst.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prognosis at first was she wouldn\u2019t make it through the weekend,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then they said she\u2019d never open her eyes. But every time … she proved them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n For six months, he couldn\u2019t hear his wife\u2019s voice. Their three children struggled to adjust to a new normal, a quiet home that once overflowed with laughter and weekend sports.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hard not being able to call her or tell her how my day was,\u201d said her daughter, Lexxie Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s like there\u2019s this space that\u2019s never filled.\u201d<\/p>\n What happened that night?<\/p>\n Police arrested Latorray Yvonne Collins, 39, who is charged with attempted murder. Investigators say the shooting started after an argument with a man Taylor was riding with, someone Collins had recently broken up with. Family identified him as a cousin, and in the arrest report he said she had been calling and texting him to come get his belongings but that he told her to throw them out.<\/p>\n He sad she kept calling but he didn’t answer, and then she suddenly appeared driving in front of him, blocking him. So he backed up and swerved past he. But while stopped at another light, he told police Collins got out and started banging on his window. While they were arguing, she and Taylor also exchanged words. Then others they were with in another car got out and started yelling. Davis said he got in between and then heard one shot and Taylor fall to the ground.<\/p>\n Collins told police she and her friend were being encroached on and that one of the drivers threw an alcoholic beverage at them. The next line her arrested report was redacted. She remains in jail, but pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for another court hearing in January.<\/p>\n Taylor says she had never met Collins before that night.<\/p>\n \u201cI just would like to know\u00a0what made her feel the need to take a gun and shoot me?\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI can\u2019t say I hate her, because I don\u2019t know her. But I do want her to pay for what she did. It changed the course of my family\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n The aftermath and recovery of Tasha Taylor, and a plea for help<\/p>\n Diane Smith is a close friend trying to raise funds for Taylor’s care and her family. She described what things have been like, stating that “My dearest friend died twice that day just to be resuscitated” and had to be put in a coma “while doctors frantically worked on stabilizing her.”<\/p>\n After two months at UF Health, she was airlifted to the Shepherd Center, a hospital in Atlanta specializing in rehabilitation for people with complex conditions including spinal cord or brain injuries.<\/p>\n “She underwent two surgeries.\u00a0Working tirelessly on her extremities. Weening her off the ventilator. Learning to talk again,” Smith said. “Tasha is back home in Callahan now since late August of this year.\u00a0 She has a trach, a feeding tube, cath and is paralyzed from the neck down, bedridden. Still waiting on a customized wheelchair so she can sit up and go outside.\u00a0Breathe some fresh air and feel the sunshine.\u00a0She is in desperate need of a used wheelchair accessible van.\u00a0She can’t get to doctor appointments; medical bills are in the millions.\u00a0Day to day supplies and expenses are a challenge. They are in a financial hardship. Dire straights.”<\/p>\n The family is asking for continued prayers and support and have set up a\u00a0*TashaStrong *spotfund<\/a>.<\/p>\n