Kiaris Avant, 30, a Black male, was found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds in the parking lot outside a liquor store at 5522 South 30th Street in South Omaha on the evening of Saturday, January 8, 2022. Officers were called just after 8 p.m., and medics pronounced him dead at the scene. The location sits near 30th and U Streets and was identified in early reports as the site of the city s first homicide of the year.
Detectives canvassed the area, going door to door to look for witnesses and pulling surveillance video while marking multiple shell casings at the scene. Police said early on that they believed the shooting was targeted and that there was no immediate danger to the broader public. Witnesses told investigators they saw two males running northbound from the parking lot moments after the gunfire. A community prayer walk in Avant s memory was organized near the scene in the days that followed.
Authorities released Avant s name and age as they opened the homicide investigation, and memorial pages later recorded his date of death and Omaha as the place where his life was lost. Despite the early witness descriptions, officials did not announce suspect identities at the time, and no arrests were reported in those initial days. Investigators asked anyone with information to contact the Omaha Police Homicide Unit or to provide anonymous tips through Omaha Crime Stoppers.
