Messiah Holley

Messiah Holley, a 17-year-old Black male, was a young man whose family believed his life could have been saved. His parents shared that Messiah had been diagnosed with a form of psychosis and often wandered from his Omaha, Nebraska, home. They had been seeking inpatient treatment for him and felt that his mental state may have made him a target. On the night he was killed, he had walked more than two miles from his residence. His family believes that had he received the mental health care he needed, his death could have been avoided.

On the evening of November 8, 2023, around 7 p.m., police responded to a ShotSpotter alert indicating five gunshots near the intersection of 19th and Spencer streets. Officers arrived to find Messiah on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. They immediately began life-saving measures, and he was rushed to Nebraska Medicine in extremely critical condition, but he did not survive his injuries.

The investigation revealed that the attack was not random. Surveillance footage from a nearby home showed a group of young people surrounding Messiah and assaulting him just before the shooting. Prosecutors stated that witnesses saw several people punching and kicking Messiah. The investigation quickly led police to a nearby house where they located several individuals. A search of an upstairs bedroom uncovered a Glock handgun with an extended magazine. Ballistics reports later confirmed that shell casings found at the crime scene matched the rounds in the magazine of the recovered firearm.

In December 2023, police arrested Tyrice Coleman, who was 17 at the time of the shooting and had recently turned 18. He was charged with first-degree murder, use of a weapon to commit a felony, and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. According to prosecutors, two witnesses who were present during the assault identified Coleman as the shooter. They reported that as others were attacking Messiah, Coleman yelled for them to move, pulled out a handgun, and shot Messiah multiple times in the head, neck, back, arms, and hands.

The investigation continued, and in April 2024, police made a second arrest. Ronald Harlan, 18, was taken into custody and charged with accessory to a felony in connection with the homicide. Tyrice Coleman’s case proceeded to trial. In September 2025, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 80 years to life in prison. Because he was a minor when he committed the murder, he was ineligible for a mandatory life sentence without parole.