The girlfriend of a Florida college student shot and killed in Alabama by a woman pretending to need help is calling him a "hero."
Adam Simjee and his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, both students at the University of Central Florida, were driving along a road when they were "flagged down" by a woman, later identified as Yasmine Hider, who "asked the couple if they could give her some assistance to help get her car started," FOX 35 Orlando reports.
When the couple attempted to assist Hider, she produced a gun and made the couple walk back into the woods for an attempted robbery, a Clay County Sheriff's office release says.
At some point, after Hider walked them at gunpoint into the woods, Simjee produced a handgun that was concealed on his person. There was an exchange of gunfire, during which the suspect was shot multiple times. Simjee was struck by gunfire as well and died at the scene. Paulus was not injured in the gunfire exchange and was able to call for help, as well as tell investigators about a second suspect who was watching nearby during the incident.
Paulus performed CPR on her boyfriend until first responders arrived. She told FOX 35 off camera that Hider asked for their bank account numbers shortly after they stopped to help her.
She called her boyfriend a "hero" for stopping the woman from hurting her at the cost of his own life.
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Hider was found with several gunshots to her torso. She was taken to a nearby landing zone and airlifted to a Birmingham hospital where she underwent surgery for her injuries.
Authorities have obtained the following warrants for Hider: one count of murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery. Hider is currently in a Birmingham hospital, while she recovers from her surgeries under the observation of sheriff’s deputies.
The suspects were determined to be living in the woods "off the grid" in the Talladega National Forest, authorities say. Their base camp was located about a half mile from where the shooting happened.
"There, deputies reportedly found Pinkins and a child, who was holding a ‘loaded shotgun.’ The child reportedly put down the weapon, and Pinkins was arrested. The child was reportedly placed in state custody," FOX 35 reported.
