With the sheer amount of news updates and information out there today, it’s fairly rare that we read things that genuinely shock us.
Yet I don’t think I’m stepping beyond the realms of realism when I say that this particular story is shocking. Perhaps it refers to an isolated incident of tragedy, but I’m sure more than a few of our readers will acknowledge it as a sad reflection of what society is becoming.
According to heartbreaking reports, a 16-year-old girl has lost her life after being stabbed by another teenage girl outside of a Washington, D.C. McDonalds on Sunday, after an argument started over “sweet-and-sour sauce”.
The Metropolitan Police Department provided an update on the condition of 16-year-old Naima Liggon, who was rushed to hospital in a privately-owned vehicle after the stabbing. Sadly, she died of her injuries there.
Reports state that Naima and another teen, both from Waldorf, Maryland, ordered food at the McDonald’s together, before leaving the restaurant and getting into a car.
The pair are then said to have started bickering over the sauces they had been given, and their differences escalated to an argument which, incredibly, resulted in Naima being stabbed.
CBS say that the second teen was taken into custody on charges of second degree murder while armed. A knife was on her person at the time of the arrest.
Naima, a student at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf, was rushed to a local hospital but could not be saved. Her new school term was due to start just one day after her murder.
In a message to parents, school principal Shanif Pearl said: “This is a heartbreaking and tragic time for our school community. This is not the news a principal ever wants to share, let alone the day before we start a new school year.”
“The impact of this senseless loss has affected our family, our friends, and our community,” Liggon’s family said in a statement.
“Naima will never see her prom or her graduation. We will not get to see her graduate from college or get married or have kids.”
D.C. Superior Court Judge Sherri Beatty-Arthur called for the suspect, a juvenile herself, to be held until a hearing on Friday. The judge said: “At the end of the day, someone is dead over a dispute over sauce.”
Naima’s mother, Joy Liggon, told WTOP: “I can’t understand how any type of a fight, whether it’s over sweet-and-sour sauce or any other topic, could result in a murder.
“Naima was beautiful, smart … she was funny, unique. She loves life.”
Rest in peace, Naima Liggon, another victim of a senseless crime that is truly difficult to grasp.
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