Rashad Rice

Rashad Rice, one of two men shot to death on a MetroBus in Breckenridge Hills, was remembered as a brilliant and funny man who loved to read and listen to podcasts. Family members and friends held a vigil for Rice, 52, on a bank parking lot on St. Charles Rock Road. The site was just a few yards from where Rice was shot last Friday afternoon by a man police said was targeting another passenger he had argued with, sitting behind Rice. "My favorite memory is his just being with family, always wrapping his arms around family, challenging you to be better," Rice's sister, Jessina Thomas of Florissant, said in an interview before the hourlong event. Family members said Rice was a retired tax auditor who lived near Pagedale. They said he liked to take the bus and MetroLink and had never had a problem with crime on public transit previously. "That was his routine, catching a bus," said one of his brothers, Teroyn Rice of Edwardsville. Family members said he had a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and would often return to the school to read books in the campus library or to swim. They said he lived about half of the year here and half in Oregon. Breckenridge Hills police say Rice was an innocent bystander in the deadly incident last week. Police said the assailant and the man targeted, Michael Hunter, 24, knew each other. Hunter also died. Police, the week after the shooting released a photo of the suspect in the case, Christopher Irving, 20, of University City, who fled the bus on foot. Family members said Rice was on his way to a doctor's appointment when the shooting took place. He had a 16-year-old son, 30-year-old daughter and two grandsons, they said. They have set up a Gofundme account to raise funds to help cover funeral costs and travel expenses for his two children, who both live out of town, including a son in Ethiopia. "Like many of you, my heart has been broken by this tragedy," said Trina Haynes, a family friend who spoke at the event. She said the vigil was honoring Rice "not because of the way his life ended but because of the beautiful life he lived." Several family members also spoke. So did James Clark, an official with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, who said there needs to be a movement among Black Americans to reduce violence in their communities. "Nobody treats us worse than we treat each other," Clark said. "We shoot each other dead every day in every major city in America. We need to begin to challenge the behavior in our communities." Also speaking were state Rep. Marla Smith, D-Pagedale, and Darrin Robinson, the Breckenridge Hills police chief. The more than 100 people at the event also prayed, listened to and sang hymns and, near the end of the event, held candles to mark Rice's passing.