UNCC shooting victim Riley Howell immortalized as a Jedi by Star Wars creator Lucasfilm

Mackensy Lunsford | Asheville Citizen Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Family and friends remember Riley Howell A memorial service was held for UNCC shooting victim Riley Howell at Stuart Auditorium in Lake Junaluska May 5, 2019.

Riley Howell, the T.C. Roberson High School graduate who was fatally shot in the April 30 UNC Charlotte shooting while protecting his classmates, has been hailed as a hero by authorities and family alike.

And now, he's been immortalized as a Jedi, a guardian of peace and justice in the beloved Star Wars film series.

The fan relations team for Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars series, wrote a letter to Howell's family expressing condolences.

"Riley's courage and selflessness brings out the Jedi in all of us," wrote fan relations team member Lucas Seastrom. "We hope that you may rejoice in his memory, and we join you in honoring his life and example."

"As a small tribute, our Story Group has incorporated a reimagining of Riley's name as a character in the Star Wars galaxy," Seastrom continued. "We can't reveal the specific details at this time, but the character's name will appear in a forthcoming book publication later this year.

The Force will be with Riley, and all of you, always..."

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The Jedi: An ancient order of protectors

The fan-driven Stars Wars information site Wookiepedia describes the Jedi Order as one of "protectors united by their ability to harness the power of the Force."

While tapping into an inner tranquility achieved through calmness and meditation, Jedi knights were guardians of peace and justice, often coming to the defense of others.

Howell was 21 when he became one of two victims fatally wounded when an ex-UNCC student walked into a classroom building and opened fire. Also killed was student Ellis R. Parlier, 19.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Kerr Putney described Riley as a hero who "took the assailant off his feet," preventing more bloodshed.

"You're either going to run, hide and shield, or you're going to take the fight to assailant," Putney said. "Having no place to run and hide, he did the last. But for his work, the assailant may have not been disarmed. Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process."

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Star Wars was close to his heart

Of all the honors that were bestowed upon Howell after his selfless act, this one may have been the closest to his heart, Lauren Westmoreland, Howell's longtime girlfriend, said in an email.

"Though he wasn’t an artist, he loved to draw the clone trooper helmets all the time, sometimes even on my birthday cards," she said. "He has little figurines all over his room, and when I hiked on the Pacific Coast Trail for a month with Outward Bound after he was killed, I took his Obi-wan (Kenobi) figurine with me."

Her father Kevin Westmoreland, an owner of The Corner Kitchen and Chestnut, said Star Wars was one of the first topics he discussed with Howell.

"We were both fans, but we liked different movies," he said.

Westmoreland, also the secretary of the Riley Howell Foundation Fund, which helps support organizations dedicated to victims of gun violence, said Howell studied the Star Wars universe for most of his life.

"He had a very strong sense of good and evil, and how to live life as someone who looked out for others," Westmoreland said. "Seeing him listed as both a Jedi and a historian in Star Wars lore is a perfect way to connect him to this story and the characters he loved. And it describes him exactly."