Kiaris Avant, 30, was found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds in the parking lot outside a liquor store at 5522 South 30th Street in South Omaha on the evening of Saturday, January 8, 2022. Officers and medics arrived just after 8 p.m., and Avant was pronounced dead at the scene. Early reports identified the location near 30th and U Streets as the city’s first homicide of the year.

Investigators marked multiple shell casings, canvassed the area for witnesses and reviewed surveillance video. Police said they believed the shooting was targeted and that there was no immediate danger to the broader public. Witnesses reported seeing two males running northbound from the parking lot moments after the gunfire. Officials had not announced any suspect identities or arrests in the initial days following the killing. A community prayer walk was organized near the scene in Avant’s memory.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or remembers seeing the area around 30th and U Streets on January 8, contact the Omaha Police Homicide Unit or Omaha Crime Stoppers.