INDIANAPOLIS — Police are investigating a mass shooting that wounded six people, one fatally, on the west side of Indianapolis early Monday.
Officers received a report of a person shot at a Waffle House restaurant in the 2600 block of South Lynhurst Drive, near Sam Jones Expressway and Interstate 70, shortly after 12:30 a.m. Feb. 19. When they arrived at the scene, officers found five victims who had apparently been shot.
One of the victims, an adult female, died from her injuries at the hospital. The Marion County Coroner's Office identified her Feb. 19 as 35-year-old Crystal Kennebrew. The other victims transported from the scene to area hospitals, three men and a woman, are all in stable condition, police said.
According to IMPD, a sixth victim — an adult male who arrived at IU Health Methodist Hospital shortly after the shooting — is in critical condition.
Police said two groups of people got into an altercation at the restaurant before the shooting. An IMPD spokesperson said the incident happened both inside and outside the Waffle House.
Investigators are still searching the area for witnesses, noting there were a lot of people at the restaurant when the shooting occurred and many of them left the area before police arrived.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call IMPD Homicide Det. Doug Morning at 317-327-3475 or by email at Douglas.Morning@indy.gov. Tips can also be made anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477.
'It's really shocking'
Friends identified the woman shot and killed at Waffle House as Crystal Kennebrew, who also goes by Cristal Harris on social media.
They tell 13News she is part-owner of Fatso's Pub in Gary, Indiana, and came to Indianapolis to enjoy NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.
Friends also tell 13News Kennebrew visited a friend and helped serve drinks behind the bar.
Her death comes as a shock to many.
"It could have been me. It could have been any of us. So I'm kind of confused, 'Like what in the world?' It's really shocking," said Jaleesa Joseph, Crystal's childhood friend.
Friends try to remember the good times but are understandably heartbroken.
"She used to be so little, but you never had to guess what Crystal said or how Crystal felt," Joseph said. "It was so funny when I saw her be a promoter because sometimes, you don't let people grow up in your head. We're the same age, but I still look at her like the little girl that I met at Coonley Elementary."
