UAB nursing student fatally shot on campus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A woman studying to become a nurse was fatally shot Thursday night on the campus at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, authorities said.

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The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Friday identified the woman as Destiny Danielle Washington, 20, of Trussville. Washington was completing classes at Lawson State Community College through UAB’s Joint Admission Program, AL.com reported. Washington was set to graduate in May 2021 as a registered nurse, the website reported. She was going to become a traveling nurse.

“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,” UAB officials said in a statement. “Police believe this occurred during a meeting arranged to sell headphones,” UAB said in a statement Friday morning.

According to the Birmingham Police Department, Washington was killed during a botched sale of AirPods in the parking lot of UAB’s Hill Student Center, AL.com reported.

Police said they received a call of a shooting at about 9:40 p.m. Thursday, WTVM reported. Officers were sent to an area hospital after learning that a shooting victim had been taken to the hospital. Washington was pronounced dead at the hospital, the television station reported.

According to Washington’s family, the woman was with her boyfriend when they were trying to close a deal on the AirPods, AL.com reported. The transaction soured, and as Washington and her boyfriend returned to their car, the man allegedly opened fire, striking Washington, according to Birmingham police Officer Truman Fitzgerald.

“I feel like my life will change forever and I’m sure everybody surrounding me feels the same way,’' Brandee Crenshaw, one of Washington’s older sisters, told AL.com. “I’ll never be the same. It’s not real. This can’t be my life right now.

“Whatever she put her mind to, Destiny was able to do it. And her friends were along her side, accomplishing the same goals,” Crenshaw told the website. “My sister had goals and ambitions she was trying to accomplish and y’all took that from her.”

Melanie Gaines, who taught Washington at Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, said she was stunned by the news of the 2018 graduate’s death.

“It’s such a tragedy for her family,” Gaines told the Trussville Tribune. “As a teacher, your students are always your kids, no matter how many years pass. It’s always hard.

“Destiny was one of those students that always tried to help out. She is one of those that always stayed with you.”

Michael Lee, the principal at Clay-Chalkville, said he remembered Washington as a bright student with an infectious smile, WBMA reported.

“Brighten the room, brighten the hallway, you remember those kids that reach out and try to build a relationship with you and that was definitely the kind of person that Destiny was,” Lee told the television station.

Detectives have not released any information on the shooter, WBRC reported.

“To hear something just so senseless could happen,” Gaines told the Tribune. “It was just taking the life of somebody that had so much to offer.”

Cox Media Group