Naya Reynolds was a diligent student at Western Michigan University, majoring in criminal justice and sociology. The 22-year-old was also a cheerleading enthusiast who touched the lives of those who knew her.

“She wanted the best for everybody. She loved her family. She loved her nephews. She wanted to do something with her life,” Maya Davis, Naya's mother, told TV station Fox 17. 

Davis said what made her daughter even more special was her huge heart.

“We would be driving and she would see a homeless person and say ‘Mom! Stop the car.’ And she would go in her purse and get money and that’s what I want people to know about her. I don’t want people to remember what happened to her. I want them to remember the lives that she impacted,” Davis was quoted as saying.

Reynolds, of Kalamazoo, was fatally shot on Friday, August 26, 2022, while in a vehicle on the Interstate 94 ramp. “It makes no sense,” her mother told Fox 17. “She was just on her way home, that’s it. We were together that day. We were all at my daughter's house.”

Her high school cheer coach, who she maintained a close relationship with, said that Reynolds was a very special person to all she met.

“She just was just a ball of energy that just loved people and she was always rooting for someone else,” Deveta Gardner, her cheerleading coach and mentor, told MLive.com. “She had a smile that can light up a room.”

A 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene on outstanding warrants as he tried to leave, according to Portage Public Safety Director Nicholas Armold.

Another woman, who was pregnant, was also shot during the incident. She was last reported to be in stable condition at a nearby hospital. An 18-month-old baby was also shot and is expected to recover, according to law enforcement.Reynolds loved cheerleading, thanks to her older sister, who was a cheerleader as well. Reynolds made the cheerleading squad at Kalamazoo Central High School, according to Gardner.

Reynolds was also a spiritual person who sought to strengthen her relationship with God.

“I remember when she told me that she wanted to get baptized, and that was one of the proudest days of her life,” Gardner was quoted as saying. “For a young person to be in that space is so powerful.”

WMU’s president expressed his grief over Reynolds’ slaying in a letter to faculty and students.

“We extend our condolences to the families and all those close to Naya … who are especially experiencing the pain of these tragic losses,” WMU President Edward Montgomery said in a written statement to the university community. “Processing through grief takes time. As a community, let us lean on each other for needed support now and in the weeks and months ahead.”

Reynolds’ funeral service was held Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Kalamazoo.

“We have people who were actually involved in the incident, who are avoiding us,” Nick Armold, the director for the Portage Department of Public Safety said. 

Despite the lack of cooperation, Armold said he is determined the solve the case.

“The I-94 case, we’re going to keep working that until we we solve it; we make an arrest,” Armold was quoted as saying. “Because somebody is out in our communities, who apparently has the ability to shoot and kill women and children. That’s just totally unacceptable.”

Police have launched an investigation and hope those who may have saw the incident can help them. Anyone with information is asked to anonymously call Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or go online at www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com.

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