BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – A University of Alabama – Birmingham nursing student was shot and killed Thursday evening during a parking lot meetup to sell a pair of earphones. Birmingham police were called around 9:40 p.m. by staffers at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where the victim was taken by private vehicle and was pronounced dead.
The young woman has been identified by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office as Destiny Washington, 20, of Trussville. It appears that she had accompanied her boyfriend to the UAB’s Hill Student Center in the 1400 block of University Boulevard. The boyfriend was meeting someone who was going to buy a pair of Airpod earphones from him. When he thought that the buyer was using counterfeit money, he backed out of the sale and walked away. He said that as he was walking away from the buyer’s car toward his own car, someone opened fire and his girlfriend was struck.
Washington was enrolled in a dual nursing program with UAB and Lawson State Community College and would have graduated in May. No arrests have been made at this time.
UAB officials released the following statement regarding the murder: “We are devastated that tragedy hit the UAB family overnight when a student lost her life after being shot in the parking lot outside the Hill Student Center. Police believe this occurred during a meeting arranged to sell headphones. Because this is an ongoing investigation, and out of respect for the victim and her family, we are not sharing additional information at this time. However, we will when it is appropriate. In the meantime, please keep the victim and her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”
This is yet another online sales transaction meetup gone bad. This time a young lady with a bright future and a desire to live her life serving others lost her life through no fault of her own, and she probably didn’t think twice about accompanying her boyfriend to the meeting.
Sometimes self-defense is as simple as avoiding risky situations. Tagging along with someone who is meeting a stranger after dark for a transaction involving money and merchandise is risky.
If you’re meeting someone for a sale, try and stick to a few guidelines:
- Meet during daylight hours
- Set up the meeting in a public place
- Never go by yourself
- Meet at a police station if possible
The majority of these online meets go flawlessly and never have any ill intentions. The few that do go bad, however, need to be prepared for.
Or avoided altogether.
