A Washington, D.C. teenager fatally stabbed another teen after a violent altercation and dispute over a McDonald’s sauce packet, according to authorities.
In the early hours of August 27, the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department responded to a 24-hour McDonald’s along U Street and 14th Street Northwest after reports of a stabbing. Later, investigators identified the deceased as 16-year-old Naima Liggon, while another 16-year-old girl was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Prior to the fatal incident, authorities had already initiated plans to establish a D.C. Juvenile Curfew Enforcement Pilot curfew for the youths in the city due to the substantial increase of crimes such as carjackings and robbery carried out by young people in designated focus areas of the city.
The program’s aim and objective is to prohibit minors under 17 from being in any public place or on the premises of any establishment Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Also, on Saturday and Sunday from 12:01 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
"We want young people to be safe, and we know oftentimes when they're out at 2 and 3, at these times at night and in the morning there's a lack of safety for them and others," said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah, according to ABC 7.
Nevertheless, just hours into the inception of the project on Friday, 19-year-old Mikeya Ferguson and 18-year-old Cle’shai Perry were shot to death along the 1300 block of 7th Street. Another 16-year-old was rushed to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.
In 1995, the city had another curfew for 16-year-olds and younger, which required officers to take the juveniles to the police station and stay with them until their parents were contacted. However, under the new pilot program, officers are required to hand over juveniles in violation of the curfew to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. As a result, officers can resume patrol during the curfew hours.
D.C. authorities believe this is an improvement despite the violent start of the program.
"The vast majority of our young people are doing the right thing – they are back in school, they are involved in extracurriculars, and in the evenings and at night, they are where they need to be – supervised and safe. But we need that to be true for all of our young people, and if we have kids and teenagers who are not in safe situations, we need to connect with those families. I’ve shared before that when I was young, my father used to tell me: There’s nothing good in the street after 11 o’clock. We want our kids home, we want them safe, and if they’re not – we want families working with us to get their kids the help that they need," stated Washington D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, reported FOX News.
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