On New Year's Day in 2016, the life of 17-year-old Rashya Long was tragically cut short in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The young woman was attending a party to celebrate the new year when violence erupted, leading to her untimely death.
The gathering, held near Northwest 39th Street and Penn Avenue, took a volatile turn in the early morning hours of January 1st. A dispute, reportedly fueled by tensions between rival gangs, broke out among some of the attendees.
As the party began to disperse and people were leaving, a series of gunshots rang out into the crowd of approximately 100 individuals. It was during this chaotic moment that Rashya was struck by the gunfire. Emergency services were called to the scene, but tragically, her injuries proved to be fatal, and she died at the location of the party.
In the wake of the shooting, an investigation was launched by the Oklahoma City Police Department. Their efforts led to the identification of a suspect, Kaylin Nicholas Mixon, who was 21 years old at the time. Prosecutors alleged that Mixon, a member of the Sunnyside Bloods gang, felt disrespected during the altercation at the party. It was claimed that in retaliation, he fired a weapon into the crowd of departing partygoers, with the bullets ultimately hitting and killing Rashya Long.
During his trial, Mixon maintained his innocence, testifying that he was not the shooter and did not even possess a gun that night. He claimed to have fled the scene upon hearing the gunshots. However, a friend of Mixon's provided testimony to the police that implicated him as the perpetrator. After considering the evidence presented, an Oklahoma County jury found Kaylin Nicholas Mixon guilty of second-degree murder. The jury recommended a sentence of 30 years in prison for his role in the death of Rashya Long. He was formally sentenced in July of 2017.
