A Tennessee mother has been accused of using her five-year-old child as a human shield as she carried out a spate of carjackings.
Bethany Wilson, 24, allegedly went on a crime spree on Thursday afternoon stealing three cars in the space of a few hours, according to Clarksville Police Department.
It all began at around 4.40pm when police said she carjacked a 51-year-old woman outside a mini-mart in Clarksville.
Police said the victim was filling her car with gas at the time, when the armed suspect approached her, pointed a gun at her and then stole her Nissan Juke.
Around 30 minutes later – at 5.16pm – police received reports of a second incident nearby where a male victim said a woman had made off with his Mercedes Benz.
The man told investigators that the assailant opened fire with a single shot, causing him to flee and her to steal his vehicle.
During the encounter, the suspect allegedly used her child as a shield.
The first victim’s Nissan Juke was found abandoned in a parking lot near the site of the second carjacking.
Sometime later, police said Ms Wilson then abandoned the Mercedez Benz and carried out a third and final carjacking of a silver Ford F-150, which she then allegedly crashed along interstate 24.
Investigators identified Ms Wilson, from Goodlettsville, as the suspect and a search was launched to track down the 24-year-old.
Hours later, police received a tipoff that she had been spotted at a nearby Days Inn hotel.
Police said that she was taken into custody without any confrontation just before 11pm – just hours after her spree began.
The child was with her at the time of her arrest and is safe, police said.
So far, Ms Wilson has been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery but Clarksville Police Department said it expects to bring more charges.
