In the spring of 2021, a Saturday outing to the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, turned tragic for 21-year-old Traquez Swift. On April 17th, the young Black / African American man was shot and critically injured. Emergency services rushed him to a local hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries, his life cut short in a sudden act of violence.
The incident also resulted in injuries to a 22-year-old woman, Ja'Keya Veland, who was with Swift at the time.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly. Law enforcement officials quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence but an isolated incident. Their efforts led to the identification of two suspects who were seen fleeing the mall on security footage. Just two days after the fatal shooting, on April 19, 2021, police arrested 16-year-old Makhi Woolridge-Jones in connection with the homicide. An 18-year-old was also taken into custody on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony.
The legal process unfolded over the following year. Woolridge-Jones was initially charged with first-degree murder. During the investigation, he admitted to shooting Swift but claimed he had been threatened. The case went to trial, and on September 30, 2022, a Douglas County jury found Makhi Woolridge-Jones, then 17, guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Traquez Swift. The conviction brought a measure of closure to a case that had shocked the Omaha community.
