Friends of Allison Rice, a senior at Louisiana State University who was found shot to death inside of her car in downtown Baton Rouge Friday morning, remembered the 21-year-old as a happy, loving and kind young woman.
"Everyone has just had enough. Everyone. I had a friend, and I don't see her often… and she messaged me, and said, ‘Was that your niece?' and I said, ‘Yes,’ and she wrote back and said, ‘I feel like she's family now. I feel like she's everyone's daughter now.' Everyone's daughter. Everyone's niece. Everyone's sister," Susie Rice Granier, Rice's aunt, told Fox News Digital.
Baton Rouge police officers found Rice fatally shot in her car, which was riddled with bullet holes, early Friday near railroad tracks on Government Street, the Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed to WAFB-TV. Investigators told the outlet that she may have been waiting for a train to pass when the shooting occurred.
The police department told Fox News Digital on Saturday afternoon that it had no additional updates in the case.
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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 just picture her walking into her dad's house and saying, ‘Hey everybody!’ and hugging and kissing everyone, smiling. She was just a bubbly person. She was a cheerleader with school spirit awards and stuff like that. Never met a stranger," Granier said.
Rice, who grew up in a suburb outside Baton Rouge, was studying marketing at LSU and had just turned 21.
"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 up-and-coming, but "as in every city, there are certain areas you have to go through that aren't so nice, and unfortunately, that was on her 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 attempted to "turn around or get away" when she was shot, Granier said.
"The fear is that they'll never find the person who did this," she said.
Rice's friends remembered her on social media as a "beautiful soul" and a "ray of sunshine."
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"How could that girl be gone? I really don't understand. Allie deserved so much more than this world... and instead she got the evil, senseless, and disgusting actions of one sick human being," Kaylin Mason wrote in a Friday Facebook post, along with several old photos of Rice. "…I am sending my heart and prayers to her friends, family, and everyone who feels the impact of this loss. I am sure the list of people who feel heartbroken by this loss is endless."
Another friend, Bella Taylor, said in a Facebook post that Rice was "a beautiful human" and "one of the kindest people" she had ever met.
"[S]he never failed at making me smile or laugh when I was feeling down. She always made sure I felt included and worthy. She will be so incredibly missed by many," Taylor wrote. "Please please be safe, especially when traveling alone or on empty streets or even late at night."
Granier issued a similar warning: "[Friends] have to stay together. Have a buddy system. There's just too much going on, even at LSU and Tigerland and Baton Rouge. Everywhere. Just try not to be by yourself. Try not to be a target for someone. Look out for each other. Care for each other. Be that friend. Just be careful. It's not a great world right now out there."
LSU issued a statement Friday saying the university is "saddened to hear of senior Allison Rice being killed overnight."
"Her family and friends are in our thoughts, and we encourage anyone who may have more information about this crime to contact Baton Rouge Police," the statement read. "Any of her friends and classmates that would like to speak with someone about this or needs help processing this loss can contact the Mental Health Service in the Student Health Center (225-578-8774)."
Fox News' Elizabeth Prichett contributed to this report.
