By Chrisleen Herard
Special to the AFRO
Just hours Naima Liggon was to begin her first day of school at Thomas Stone High School, she was fatally stabbed to death by another 16-year-old girl outside of a McDonald’s restaurant.
On Aug. 27, around 2:00 a.m., authorities responded to a call from the Howard University Hospital (HUH) where a teenage girl was suffering from multiple stab wounds in the abdomen and torso after arriving from the scene in a privately-owned vehicle.
The deadly altercation took place at the busy intersection on 14th and U Street, where the 24-hour fast food restaurant is located. Liggon and her friends went to an Oxon Hill recreation center and a party in D.C. before heading to McDonald’s, when an altercation allegedly broke out between three girls. At the heart of the fatal interaction involving Liggon and the 16-year-old suspect: a container of sweet and sour sauce.
Detective Brendan Jasper testified at a hearing in D.C. superior court on Aug. 28 that camera footage caught Liggon and another girl assaulting the suspect in the midst of the argument. The suspect reportedly did not fight back at the time, but allegedly decided to attack later.
Liggon and her friend were attempting to get into their car when the 16-year-old pulled out a 7 ½-inch pocket knife and left two stab wounds in Liggon’s chest and abdomen.
Hours after Liggon was pronounced dead at HUH, officials found the 16-year-old with a knife on her person, then arrested and later charged her with carrying a dangerous weapon, aggravated and felony assault, assault with the intent to kill and second-degree murder while being armed. It was later revealed that both the victim and suspect were from Waldorf, Md.
Crime in D.C. has risen in the past year by over 5,000 citywide, assault with a deadly weapon reaching to almost 1,000 of the 22,000 crimes that have been reported. Furthermore, since January, there have been over 1,000 juvenile arrests in the district from simple theft and carjacking to robbery and second-degree assaults.
As part of efforts to help reduce juvenile crime in D.C., a curfew has been issued for those under the age of 17 in certain areas, including the U Street entertainment strip, and is expected to go into effect on Sept. 1, the same day the next court hearing has been set for the 16-year-old suspect.