Adam Simjee: Florida student, 22, SHOT DEAD in attempted robbery at Alabama’s Talladega National Forest

Simjee and his girlfriend were driving and hiking near Cheaha Mountain when they stopped to help a woman

PUBLISHED AUG 17, 2022

(L) Adam Simjee and Mikayla Paulus were on a camping trip when Kristal Pinkins (R) and another woman attempted to rob them (gofundme/Pilar Renteria, Facebook/Clay County Sheriff's Office)

CLAY COUNTY, FLORIDA: College student Adam Simjee died after being shot in an attempted robbery when he and his girlfriend Mikayla Paulus went hiking in Alabama’s Talladega National Forest. The students of the University of Central Florida had been driving near Cheaha Mountain when they stopped to help a woman who was having car trouble.

According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, the woman, identified as Yasmine Hider, held the couple at gunpoint and led them into the woods to rob them. The 22-year-old from Apopka pulled out his own handgun, after which both Simjee and Hider were shot. While Simjee succumbed to his injuries, Hider was wounded. The incident took place on Sunday, August 14, 2022 in the Talladega National Forest approximately 1 mile from the state park boundaries.

Video footage shows teens who BROKE INTO $8M Florida mansion hosting wild party and boxing match

A press release from the Clay County Sheriff's Office notes that on August 14, 2022, at 11:30 am, a call was made to 911 after which the Clay County Rescue Squad and Shinbone Valley Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched to National Forest Service Road 600-3 near Cheaha Mountain. The call had been made by Mikayla Paulus, 20, girlfriend of the victim.

Upon arrival at the scene, they found Paulus performing CPR on "her long-time boyfriend" who had been shot in the back. The emergency personnel also spotted a "black female, later identified as Yasmine Hider," who was laying on the ground nearby. She had been wounded, having suffered several gunshots to her torso. She was taken to a nearby landing zone via an ambulance and was then airlifted to a Birmingham hospital for treatment.

Adam Simjee and Macayla Paulus (gofundme.org/Pilar Renteria)

According to the deputies, Paulus also mentioned that when they were being held at gunpoint by Hider, she had noticed another woman standing further away in the woods. When Paulus called to her for help, the woman spoke briefly with Hider and fled the scene on foot. She has been identified as Krystal Diane Pinkins.

Kristal Pinkins — Krystal Pinkins (Facebook/Clay County Sheriff's Office)

The Sherrif's office also stated that there "may be" a group of people "living off the grid" somewhere in the National Forest who could be "armed and potentially violent." The team eventually found the camp was located approximately half a mile from the crime scene. "As law enforcement were approaching the base camp, they observed a black female standing near the tents. As officers were ordering the female to the ground a 5-year-old child ran from the woods holding a loaded shotgun." The female was identified as Krystal Pinkins and the child was her son. Pinkins was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Meanwhile, the Department of Human Resources was notified, and they took custody of the child.