Seth Rich made such an impression as a teenage intern in Nebraska that a U.S. Senate campaign hired him before he completed high school. A young man who dreamed politics, he headed to Capitol Hill after college.
As a staffer at the Democratic National Committee, Rich worked tirelessly on a project to help voters easily find their polling places. But he was lighthearted, too, sometimes pulling on a sweatshirt adorned with a picture of a panda, his favorite animal, just to make co-workers laugh.
Early Sunday morning, the 27-year-old was shot to death in a crime that has shaken not only his family, colleagues and friends, but also many in his Bloomingdale neighborhood of Northwest. Police said they have no suspects, witnesses or motive, though they are looking at whether Rich could have been slain in an attempted robbery.