In the early evening of February 12, 2020, the life of 22-year-old Amare Diaj Holt, a Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in Wichita, Kansas. An argument with his 18-year-old girlfriend, Rina Han Nguyen, at her apartment in the 1500 block of South Battin escalated into a fatal encounter. As Holt was walking out the front door of the residence, Nguyen produced a handgun and fired multiple shots.
Struck by the gunfire, Holt collapsed across the street.
Neighbors who heard the shots emerge to find him on the ground, with some attempting to render aid before first responders arrived. He was transported to a local hospital in critical condition but succumbed to his injuries at approximately 6:35 p.m. The gunshots not only claimed a life but also endangered others, as stray bullets struck a nearby apartment, shattering a window in a home where a family was bathing their two children.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Nguyen fled the scene in a vehicle. However, she returned a short time later and was arrested without incident. Investigators learned that the couple had a history of domestic violence, with a prior case reported in December 2019.
Rina Han Nguyen was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling. In April 2022, at the age of 20, she pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. In June of that year, a judge sentenced her to 123 months, just over 10 years, in prison. She was also ordered to pay nearly $9,000 in restitution.
