On Saturday evening, Reza’s closest friends and family came together to remember and celebrate Reza in the apartment complex parking lot where she was gunned down nearly one month prior. Dressed in red shirts showing Reza’s image as an angel, they scribbled messages and prayers onto balloons — red, which was Reza’s favorite color — and released them into the pale blue sky.

“We’re all here to support Nicole and her beautiful self,” said Alondra Zavala, Reza’s stepsister. “Nicole really meant a lot to each and every one of us in our own ways and it’s hard that we lost her.”

When Reza’s mother decided against holding a funeral, Zavala took it upon herself to do something to honor and celebrate Reza and to give their friends a chance at closure.

“I know it’s not something extravagant, but it’s something small and it’s at least something,” Zavala said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Haven Junkman and Alexis Porter, friends of Nicole Reza, write notes on a shirt emblazoned with Reza’s image as an angel during a vigil for Reza on Saturday evening. Reza was killed in a shooting on March 30.

Reza left behind three young sons — 2-year-old Atticus, 5-year-old Akeem and 6-year-old Uzziah.

“She was a caring mother,” Zavala said. “It was always about her boys.”

Reza was just 26 years old when she died.

“She was loving, outgoing, caring,” Zavala said. “She was the funniest person alive, the party of the room all the time. She was just the life of everything.”

Reza’s friends recalled how close she was to her sister, Alexus, who passed away a few years ago. They expressed comfort knowing they have been reunited in the afterlife.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Arianna Newsome, far right, lights a candle with a picture of Nicole Reza on it during a vigil on Saturday evening. Reza died in a domestic violence shooting on March 30.

As they gathered, Reza’s friends shared memories in hopes of overshadowing the tragedy that ended her life.

“To me, she was my best friend, my everything,” said Arianna Newsome. “She’s the realest person I’ve ever known and just there to live her life. She loved everybody; she loved her kids the most.”

Alexis Porter, another close friend, added, “Nicole was always outgoing and positive, no matter what. She was always making sure everybody’s happy. She did genuinely love everybody around her. She always had a bright smile.”

As Newsome looked around at the dozens gathered in Reza’s honor, she really took in the impact Reza had on those around her in her short time on Earth.

“She just held a very big spot in a lot of peoples’ lives,” Newsome said. “I tried to bring her energy here. I don’t want to be sad. I want to live for Nicole.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Friends honored Nicole Reza’s close relationship with her late sister Alexus during a vigil to celebrate Reza’s life on Saturday evening.

Reza was shot and killed in the parking lot of 707 Seventh Ave. N. on the evening of March 30.

Reza’s alleged killer, 27-year-old Adarius Clayton, died by self-inflicted gunshot wound in Des Moines on March 31 as law enforcement closed in on him. According to Zavala, Reza had been in a relationship with Clayton prior to her death.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Friends carried candles adorned with photos of Nicole Reza during a vigil to celebrate Reza’s short life on Saturday evening.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Friends of Nicole Reza put up a cross to honor her near where she died on March 30.