In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Lincoln, Nebraska, the promising life of 20-year-old Marlene Uziya Rashidi was tragically cut short. On June 26, 2016, Rashidi, a Black female, was shot and killed while sitting in her car near Portia and Adams streets around 3 a.m. Another woman in the vehicle, 23-year-old Desiree Mann, was also shot and was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition.
Rashidi was a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she
was a political science major with dreams of becoming a public defender. She was a talented poet and a thrower on the university's track team. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she and her family had fled their war-torn homeland, living as refugees in South Africa and Zimbabwe before moving to Lincoln in 2009. She graduated from Lincoln High School in 2014, leaving a lasting impression on those who knew her as a driven and vibrant individual.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led police to a suspect, 22-year-old Sir Michael Kennedy. A tragic and violent confrontation unfolded several hours after the initial shooting when police located Kennedy. When confronted by officers, Kennedy reportedly raised a weapon in a threatening manner and was shot and killed by the police.
Authorities believe Kennedy may have mistakenly targeted Rashidi and Mann. It was suggested that the vehicle the two women were in was similar to one involved in an earlier altercation with the suspect. Friends remembered Rashidi as a person who brought smiles to the faces of those around her, making her sudden and senseless death all the more devastating to her family, friends, and the university community.
