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Friends of Allison Rice, Senior of Louisiana State University who was found shot inside her car in downtown Baton Rouge Friday morning, remembered the 21-year-old as a happy, loving and kind young woman.
“Everybody’s had enough. Everybody. I had a friend and I don’t see her often … and she texted me and said, ‘Was that your niece?’ and I said, “Yes,” and she answered and said, “I feel like family now. Now I feel like she’s everybody’s daughter. Everybody’s daughter. Everybody’s niece. Everybody’s sister,” Susie Rice Granier, Rice’s aunt, told Fox News Digital.
Baton Rouge police officers found Rice fatally shot in his car, which was riddled with bullet holes, early Friday near the railroad tracks on Government Street, the Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed on WAFB-TV. Investigators told the outlet that he may have been waiting for a train to pass when the shooting occurred.
The police department told Fox News Digital late Saturday that it had no additional updates on the case.
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Allison Rice was killed Friday in Baton Rouge, according to police.
(Allie Rice/Facebook)
Granier said friends, strangers and even politicians have reached out to offer support to her family.
“We miss her. She was always smiling and happy. I can just picture her walking into her dad’s house and saying, ‘Hi everyone!’ and hugging and kissing everybody, smiling. She was just a bubbly person. She was a cheerleader with school spirit awards and stuff like that. I never met a stranger,” Granier said.
Rice, who grew up in a suburb outside of Baton Rouge, was studying marketing at LSU and had just turned 21.
Rice, who grew up in a suburb outside of Baton Rouge, had just turned 21.
(Susie Rice Granier)
“She just wanted to be 21. She would have graduated in May. This was the beginning of the rest of her life,” Rice’s aunt said, adding that the area where her niece worked was promising, but “as in In every city there are certain areas you have to go through that aren’t so nice and unfortunately it was on the way home.”
Investigators believe Rice had been with friends Friday evening before she was shot.
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She was stopped at an intersection waiting for a train to pass and may have tried to “turn or run” when she was shot, Granier said.
Allison Rice was stopped at an intersection waiting for a train to pass and may have tried to “spin to get away” when she was shot, her aunt said.
(Susie Rice Granier)
“The fear is that they will never find the person who did this,” he said.
Rice’s friends remembered her on social media as a “precious soul” and a “ray of sunshine.”
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“How could that girl walk away? I really don’t understand. Allie deserved so much more than this world…and instead she had the evil, senseless, disgusting actions of a sick human being,” Kaylin wrote Mason in a Friday Facebook post, along with several old photos of Rice. “… I send my heart and prayers to his friends, family and everyone feeling the impact of this loss. I’m sure the list of people who feel broken by this loss is endless.”
Allison Rice was studying marketing at LSU and graduated in May.
(Susie Rice Granier)
Another friend, Bella Taylor, said in a Facebook post that Rice was “a beautiful human being” and “one of the kindest people” she had ever met.
“[S]he never failed to make me smile or laugh when I was feeling down. She always made sure I felt included and worthy. She will be greatly missed by many,” Taylor wrote. “Please be safe, especially when traveling alone or on empty streets or even at night.”
Granier issued a similar warning: “[Friends] they must stay together Have a buddy system. There’s too much going on, even at LSU and Tigerland and Baton Rouge. Everywhere. Just try not to be alone. Try not to be a target for someone. Take care of each other. Take care of each other. Be that friend. Just be careful. It’s not a great world right now.”
Friends of Allison Rice remembered her as a “precious soul” and a “ray of sunshine.”
(Susie Rice Granier)
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LSU released a statement Friday saying the university is “saddened to learn that Allison Rice was killed overnight.”
“His family and friends are in our thoughts, and we encourage anyone with more information about this crime to contact Baton Rouge police,” the statement said. “Any of your friends and classmates who want to talk to someone about this or need help processing this loss can contact Mental Health Services at the Student Health Center (225-578-8774).”
Elizabeth Prichett of Fox News contributed to this report.
