The mindless killing of Allison Rice: Attack that saw LSU student shot over 10 times may have been 'random'
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA: Prosecutors believe Louisiana State University (LSU) student Allison Rice was killed in a random attack. However, rumors that have been surfacing suggest that the murder may have been part of a gang initiation. The 21-year-old died after being shot more than 10 times while she waited at a train crossing in Louisiana, eating fries. At the time of the murder, she was on her way back home from a night out with friends.
The Louisiana State University Senior was discovered dead inside her bullet-riddled car in Baton Rouge on Friday, September 16. She had been partying with friends at a bar on Government Street not far from the spot where she was killed. She was possibly trying to turn around at the tracks when someone shot her several times through her windshield.
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Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore told WBRZ that the real motive behind Allison's murder is still a mystery. Detectives are at a loss as they have yet to identify a motive behind the brutal murder of the student. "This appears to be a totally isolated, random type act," Moore said. "It's way too early to tell. We never want to get out in front of the evidence and the facts of the case. Surely, that's not anything that's jumping out to me as a person that has done this for years."
While no arrests have been made yet, police have allegedly been flooded with tips about the identity of the killer. How credible the tips are, however, is unclear. The DA confirmed that multiple federal law enforcement agencies -- including the FBI, DEA, and the ATF -- have been brought in to assist in the case.
"I just hope that somebody speaks up. Somebody that knows something, somebody that was here in this area," Allison's father Paul Rice has said, according to the Daily Mail. "Please, if you've seen anything, call the police department, call crime stoppers, call somebody. Tell somebody, call me."
Paul had previously said he believes her daughter was killed because she was "in the wrong place at the wrong time". He also said she had no enemies, and he does not believe she had a stalker either.
Authorities found multiple shell casings close to the car Allison was discovered in. Fast food was found spilled on her lap, but nothing was stolen from the car. Allison suffered wounds to her arm and chest.
A Baton Rouge Police spokesman said, "Rice was shot multiple times while sitting in the driver seat of her vehicle. Rice died at the scene. The motive and suspect(s) are unknown at this time."
Rice's death is s the 74th this year in the East Baton Rouge Parish. It comes after various other crimes were committed against LSU students. A student was shot during an attempted robbery on August 19, 2022, and there were two separate kidnapping cases on the campus just days later. Baton Rouge has one of the highest homicide rates in Louisiana, the FBI stated.