Tiffany Ferguson, Nashville nurse, stabbed to death in "rare" random attack, cops say
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police are searching for a suspect seen on surveillance video after a Tennessee nurse was fatally stabbed inside her condo in what police are calling a “rare” random attack, reports CBS affiliate WTVF.
23-year-old Tiffany Ferguson, an ICU nurse at St. Thomas West Hospital, was found dead shortly before 6 a.m. Tuesday inside her Nashville condo, the station reports. Metropolitan Nashville Police said her roommate woke up to Ferguson’s screams. When the roommate came out of her room, she saw the front door to the apartment open and found Ferguson in her separate bedroom suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Investigators believe the suspect came into the apartment through an unlocked door and at some point, a confrontation ensued. Surveillance video showed a man wearing a dark hoodie checking car doors in the 5 a.m. hour, the station reports. He found at least one that was unlocked and rummaged through the vehicle.
He then was seen checking apartment doors. That’s when police believe he found Ferguson’s door unlocked and began searching for valuables inside the home.
Officials said the suspect took items from the apartment, set them down outside, and went back in for more, but that’s when they believe he was confronted by Ferguson.
The suspect was seen leaving the area on foot. Officials have released surveillance video in the hopes that a tipster comes forward to help them identify the man.
Police say the attack appears to be random.
“From what we can tell at this moment, this does appear to be a random act, a very rare random act of violence in this particular area,” Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, told reporters.
In a statement released to the station, Ferguson’s twin sister Ali Staggs described her as the “best of us” and said the woman graduated with a nursing degree and chose to go into intensive care.
“She had a heart for people and wanted to help those who were less fortunate,” Staggs said. “She was constantly giving to others. She was a daughter, sister, and friend. To know her was to love her.”
