What happened to Allison Rice? LSU marketing student killed near downtown Baton Rouge

On Friday, September 16, 2022, Allison Rice, a student at Louisiana State University, was fatally shot while she was sitting in her car. Local media outlet WAFB confirmed that she was shot multiple times and her car was bullet-riddled.

The 21-year-old student from Geismar was found around 2 am by the Baton Rouge Police Department alone in her car parked close to the railroad tracks on Government Street near Eddie Robinson Drive. According to WAFB, a minimum of “five or six” bullets were fired at Allison Rice's car. They have considered the possibility of Rice being killed while she was waiting for a train to pass.

Investigators have discovered that before her death, she was at an establishment in the Mid City area of Baton Rouge with her friends. A witness told WBRZ:

"I heard the train, then I heard the shots...[A deadly shooting] is not surprising... someone stole an ice box... so much goes on out here. It don't make a difference about a shooting... every other night, somebody is shooting."

The witness, identified as Floyd Norman, further told reporters:

"We got a lot of problems around here... when night fall, I try not to leave my house. I'm not trying to be out here at night."

There are no suspects and the police are yet to arrest anyone in the murder case. The motive behind Rice's shooting remains unknown.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul told WBRZ:

"We are canvassing the area, meeting with businesses... trying to get all the evidence we can get."

The investigation is ongoing. Police are trying to find out if Rice was targeted or if she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sharon Weston Broome, Mayor of Baton Rouge, urged anyone with information regarding Rice's death to get in touch with the Baton Rouge Police Department or Greater Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers.

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Who was Allison Rice? Student's sudden death casts a dark shadow over Baton Rouge

Allison Rice, a student in her senior year of marketing at Louisiana State University, was a 21-year-old with ambitions and dreams for the future, but was mercilessly killed on Friday. On her way back from spending time with friends, the "high-spirited" girl was gunned down while seemingly waiting for a train to pass.

A 2019 graduate of Dutchtown High School, Rice was studying at LSU along with working at The Shed BBQ on Burbank Drive in Baton Rouge alongside her brothers. Rataija Baptist, a Dutchtown High classmate, told WAFB:

"Me and Allie, we attended Dutchtown High School together. She was an outgoing person all-around good girl. High spirit, talkative. I’m in shock that it’s just close to home and everybody knows her and she’s known around Geismar."

LSU responded to the death of Allison Rice through a statement:

"The LSU community is saddened to hear of senior Allison Rice being killed overnight. Her family and friends are in our thoughts, and we encourage anyone who may have more information about this crime to contact Baton Rouge Police."

The Shed BBQ owner, Luke Forstmann, recalled a recent conversation with Rice about an internship. Mourning her untimely death, he said:

"She had just such an amazing, bright future, and everything was just on the up and up, and she was about to graduate. And it’s just so senseless and devastating that someone as bright as her would be taken from us this early."

Police are still searching for answers regarding her cruel death.