'A people person': Gary bartender, pub owner killed in shooting at Indy Waffle House

In Gary and beyond, Crystal Kennebrew connected people to each other.

“She's always been a people person,” said the woman’s childhood friend Jaleesa Joseph. “She brought people together. Even in her absence, we are still coming together because of her.”

From their days together at Kuney Elementary School in Gary to staying in touch through social media as adults, it was always clear to Joseph that Kennebrew was good with people.

Kennebrew, 35, was a bartender, club promoter and co-owner of Fatso's Pub in Gary. She came to Indianapolis during the NBA All-Star weekend for a party at a club on the northwest side of the city.

She never made it back home to Gary after the party on Sunday.

Early Monday morning, Kennebrew was killed in a shooting at a Waffle House on Indianapolis’ southwest side that left five other people injured.

Officers were dispatched to the restaurant in the 2600 block of South Lynhurst Drive around 12:30 a.m. on a report of a person shot, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Police found five people with gunshot injuries, including Kennebrew.

Previous coverage: 1 dead, 5 others injured in early morning shooting at Indianapolis Waffle House

Three men and one woman were transported to hospitals in stable condition. Kennebrew was transported in critical condition and later died at a hospital.

One man, who was critically injured in the shooting, either took himself to the hospital or was taken by someone else. This brought the total number of people shot at Waffle House to six.

Multiple witnesses cooperated and investigators learned the shooting began as an altercation between two groups at the restaurant, which then escalated to gunfire, according to IMPD.

Police have not yet determined if anyone injured in the shooting fired shots and no arrests have been made.

During the party in Indianapolis just a few hours before her death, Kennebrew stepped up and started bartending when it became apparent the club was short staffed.

"Everyone was talking about how good of a person she is and how she came in and held it down,” Joseph said. “A lot of my family called after this happened and said she was their favorite bartender in Gary because she always remembered what they needed.”

By Monday afternoon, a memorial for Kennebrew with a photo of her and a yellow rose had been set up at an entrance to her pub in Gary.

“Put the guns down,” Joseph said. “We need to diffuse situations in different ways. We all need to have the emotional maturity to walk away. I don't know what happened exactly, but Crystal is gone now.”

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Waffle House shooting: Gary pub owner killed, 5 others hurt