A 16-year-old girl was fatally stabbed outside a Washington DC McDonalds in an altercation over sweet and sour sauce, say prosecutors. Naima Liggon, of Waldorf, Maryland, was attacked in a car outside the fast food restaurant on 14th Street NW in the early hours of Sunday.
Investigators say she was with four people who visited a recreation centre before going to a house party and then to the McDonald’s.
Police say that Liggon was stabbed twice at around 2am. She was then driven to Howard University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
A suspect, also a 16-year-old girl from Waldorf, Maryland, was found a block from the incident, reported NBC Washington. Police say she had a knife on her when she was arrested.
A detective testified in court that the girls had gone to the McDonald’s together, ordered food, and then got into a car. The detective said they then got into an argument over the sauces they had ordered and the stabbing took place, reported TV station WUSA.
During her court appearance, the teenager claimed that she acted in self-defence, claiming that the victim and another person jumped her. The judge ordered her to be held in juvenile detention pending her trial.
The suspect has been charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill, aggravated assault, felony assault and carrying a dangerous weapon.
Liggon was a student at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf.
“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,” principal Shanif Pearl said in a message to parents, staff and students on Sunday.
Liggon’s family mourned her loss in a statement released to WUSA.
“The impact of this senseless loss has affected our family, our friends, and our community,” it read.
“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.”