A 22-year-old UCF student was shot and killed by a roadside robber after he fought back to protect himself and his girlfriend according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama.
22-year-old victim, Adam Simjee from Apopka, Florida was traveling with his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, 20, through the Talladega National Forrest during an end-of-summer trip where Paulus witnessed her boyfriend’s killing around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14.
The sheriff’s office reported that the couple were stopped by a woman asking for help, later identified as Yasmine Hider.
“Hider asked the couple if they could give her some assistance to get her car started, which was nearby,” officials said. “When the couple attempted to assist Hider, she produced a gun and made the couple walk back into the woods.”
Simjee then produced a gun of his own as the two exchanged gunfire, officials said.
Paulus observed a woman standing nearby watching the scene later identified as Krystal Diane according to officials.
“The shooter then called out to Pinkins to come help her. After a brief conversation between the suspects Pinkins fled the scene on foot,” officials said. “Mikayla was then able to retrieve her cell phone and call 911.”
Paulus attempted to perform CPR on Simjee as they waited for rescue personnel but shortly after died at the scene, officials reported.
Hider was found with “several gunshots to the torso” as officers arrived at the scene to have the shooter taken to a hospital in Birmingham by helicopter, officials reported.
Simjee was in the process of completing his finance degree and graduating from UCF in 2023.
Paulus, who is also from Apopka Florida, is in grad school and “studies Masters of Art (M.A) Clinical Mental Health Counseling at University of Central Florida,” according to her Facebook profile.
Paulus took to social media to express her grief of losing her boyfriend of four years.
Yesterday my world ended,” Paulus wrote. “I had to watch as my reason for being, my soulmate, my life partner, the future father of my children, died in the middle of a state park in Alabama. No words can begin to describe the shock and pain I’m in. We had our entire lives ahead of us.”
Paulus’s father, Matt Paulus said he was thankful for Simjee’s actions describing him as a “hero”.
“I believe she’s still here because of him,” he said. “He’s definitely the man you’d hope your daughter would end up with.”
Hider is being charged with one count of murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery according to officials.
