Parents look for answers in shooting death of former Miss Nigeria
The 24-year-old was a recent college graduate and a former beauty queen
A young woman was tragically shot in front of her Philadelphia home last month and her parents are still looking for answers.
Najeebat Sule was killed on March 12 after a gunman wearing a mask shot her while she was sitting in her car in front of her home just before 6 p.m. Her father witnessed the shooting, per 6 ABC.
“This is the guy that shot my daughter. I tried to pursue him,” recalled her father, who saw the gunman in front of their Frankford Avenue home in Philadelphia.
Najeebat, who friends called Najee, was coming home for the day. The 24-year-old moved to the States from Nigeria in the 2000s.
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“I don’t know what to do, where to start now,” said her father who asked that his name not be used for fear for his family’s safety.
As a graduate of West Chester University, Sule a former Miss Nigeria had completed a master’s degree and was studying for a Ph.D.
“Sickle cell was her platform. Yeah, she talked about that,” said her sister. “She was very talented, smart, and funny.”
The case is still open with no suspects or motive.
“She’s the beacon of our community. She’s the rock for her sisters and her parents as young as she is,” said her aunt. “You don’t expect someone like her to fall victim.
Sule’s murder, per theGrio, is just one of many deadly shootings nationwide that have escalated in recent weeks.
One of the victims in the Virginia Beach shooting was the cousin of music artist Pharrell Williams.
On his official Instagram account on Monday, the artist, producer and artist posted a picture of 25-year-old Donovon Lynch and confirmed that he was shot and killed by police at the Oceanfront Friday night.
An earlier report by theGrio noted that two people died and eight were wounded in shootings along Virginia Beach’s oceanfront, police said.
“The loss of these lives is a tragedy beyond measure. My cousin Donovon was killed during the shootings. He was a bright light and someone who always showed up for others,” Williams wrote. “It is critical my family and the other victims’ families get the transparency, honesty and justice they deserve. Virginia Beach is the epitome of hope and tenacity and, as a community, we will get through this and come out even stronger.”
Eight people were shot just after 11 p.m. on March 26, Virginia Beach police said in a news release. All eight were taken to local hospitals, with some of their conditions ranging from serious to life-threatening.
One of the victims was identified as 29-year-old Deshayla Harris, who was a bystander that was struck in the 300 block of 19th street and died at the scene. Harris was a cast member of the 17th and final season of Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club in 2017 and was nicknamed “The Firecracker Fashionista.”
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The second identified victim was Lynch, who was killed in an “officer-involved shooting incident in the 300 block of 20th Street,” according to a statement from Chief Paul Neudigate of the Virginia Beach Police Department.
WAVY reporter Andy Fox said Lynch’s father, Wayne, called Donovon “a father’s dream son,” in a statement to Fox.
“Intelligent, handsome, a scholar, an athlete, an entrepreneur, and loved by all he came in contact with. Rest In Peace Don,” Fox tweeted.
Additional reporting by Ny Magee
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