Security camera footage shows Naima Liggon, 16, and another girl hitting the defendant, who then stabs Liggon, a Metro Police detective testified in court.
A 16-year-old high school student is dead and another is in custody after police say a fight over a McDonald's condiment escalated into a fatal stabbing.
It all happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 27, when Naima Liggon and a group of teens stopped to get food at one of the popular fast-food establishment's outposts in Washington D.C., according to Detective Brendan Jasper of the Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Branch.
At some point, a fight broke out between three of the girls, Det. Jasper testified at the defendant's arraignment on Monday according to The Washington Post.
Security camera footage showed Liggon and another girl began hitting the defendant, said Det. Jasper, who also noted that the defendant did not fight back at first.
Then, as Liggon returned to the car, the defendant allegedly lunged at her with a knife and stabbed her in the abdomen and torse, said Det. Jasper.
The defendant then fled the scene while Liggon was taken to Howard University Hospital, at which point police officers were alerted to the stabbing.
"On Sunday, August 27, 2023, at approximately 0210 hours, members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Third District were dispatched to a local Hospital for the report of a walk-in stabbing victim," wrote Detective Alexander Vogel in an incident report obtained by Inside Edition Digital. "Upon their arrival on the scene, officers located a juvenile victim suffering from apparent puncture wounds."
Det. Vogel went on to note that despite the "life-saving efforts" of the medical team at Howard University Hospital, Liggon "was subsequently pronounced dead" approximately 90 minutes after officers were dispatched to the scene.
This all happened the day before Liggon had been set to start classes at Thomas Stone High School.
Principal Shanif Pearl said in an email sent to parents and guardians on Sunday that the school would have additional counselors and staff "to provide support to any student or staff member who needs help processing the news of Naima’s passing," while calling the news of the teenager's death "a heartbreaking and tragic time" for the community.
"This is not the news a principal ever wants to share, let alone the day before we start a new school year," Pearl wrote. "I ask that you please keep Naima’s family, friends, loved ones and our school community in your thoughts and prayers."
Detectives with the Metro Police homicide division arrested the defendant hours after the stabbing and noted in a news release that "at the time of her arrest, the suspect was found to be in possession of a knife."
Inside Edition Digital is not identifying the defendant because she is a minor, but she did appear in court on Monday for her arraignment, where she entered a plea of not involved to the charge of second-degree murder while armed. That is the equivalent of a not guilty plea in the D.C. Juvenile Justice System.
Her lawyer argued in court on Monday that she acted in self-defense, but that did not sway Judge Sherri Beatty-Arthur, who ordered that the defendant remain in custody until her next hearing on Friday.
"At the end of the day, someone is dead over a dispute over sauce," Judge Beatty-Arthur said in court on Monday.
“Any time a young person loses their life to violence it is a tragedy that has far-reaching impacts on family, friends, and community," a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia tells Inside Edition Digital. "DC law prohibits us from speaking about specific cases involving juveniles, but the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia is committed to doing everything within our power to disrupt cycles of violence and trauma by holding wrongdoers accountable, prosecuting every violent crime where we have the evidence to do so, committing ourselves to rehabilitation and getting young people back on track, and working proactively to stop crimes from happening in the first place."
The spokesperson then added: "This is how we make sure all District residents are safe now and in the long run.”
This all happened just days before a new curfew is set to kick in Washington D.C. on September 1, which requires all minors under the age of 16 to be off the streets between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weeknights and midnight to 6 a.m. on the weekends.
