‘She had plans’: Indianapolis woman on path to graduation dies in north side apartment fire
Update: The cause of the fire was declared undetermined, according to information released by the Indianapolis Fire Department on Sept. 21, 2023.
On the balcony outside her apartment, Shatoria Lunsford set out the planters and was readying for warmer weather.
The 32-year-old, who lived on the north side of Indianapolis, was also nearing graduation from her master’s program. And she was looking forward to getting her hands on a new Lego set — she used the building blocks to decompress.
Lunsford never planted her spring garden. She didn’t get to see her hard work in school pay off at graduation and she never got to build The Lord of Rings Lego set.
She died in an early morning fire at her apartment on April 17. Dozens of other residents of the building were rescued by firefighters after the blaze began around 4:45 a.m., according to the Indianapolis Fire Department.
Lunsford, who grew up in Georgia before moving to Chicago and attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, could quickly make an impression on the people around her.
“She was one of the kindest, most sincere people that I have come across,” said friend Kelly Johnson. “You couldn't help but love her.”
Johnson and Lunsford met at the East 91st Street Christian Church on the northeast side of Indianapolis about two years ago. Johnson became a personal and spiritual mentor.
“We just kind of processed life together,” Johnson said.
Lunsford was completing her master’s degree in business online and was usually busy studying.
"She was always learning something new or teaching someone else,” Johnson said. “She read more books than anybody I know.”
Tammie Jones, Lunsford’s mother, remembers her daughter was so committed to her studies that she was offered a full scholarship for her first year of undergrad.
She went on to complete her bachelor’s degree in psychology, graduated in 2012 then moved to Indianapolis in 2017. Before the fire, Lunsford was working for Progressive insurance.
Lunsford leaves behind five brothers and two sisters and was the oldest of her siblings. She would call home to Georgia at least twice a week.
“She was a caring and devoted person,” Jones said. “She is going to be missed.”
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Darin Lunsford Sr. said his oldest daughter was a mentor for her younger siblings. Her brothers and sisters would call for advice, and she would set them down the right path, her father said.
“She didn't live the kind of life to die young,” Darin Lunsford Sr. said. “We thought they had the wrong person. She had plans. She had goals and she would accomplish those goals, then add some new goals.”
Nine other people injured in fire at Highland Pointe Apartments
The fire that killed Lunsford sent nine other people to the hospital with injuries, including four children and one adult in serious condition.
The blaze burned in the 5400 block of Michigan Road at the Highland Pointe Apartments.
From April: Woman dead, dozens rescued in Monday morning apartment fire on Indy's north side
Some residents of the three-story apartment building could not evacuate through the structure and jumped from balconies. There was a delay in attacking the blaze due to the number of residents who needed rescue from all sides of the building, according to the fire department.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it started on the first floor then quickly reached the second and third floors. It filled the entire structure with black smoke, blocking building exits for many residents.
Representatives from Highland Pointe Apartments did not return a request for comment before publication of this article.
The Indianapolis Fire Department has seen more fire deaths this year than during all of 2022. Seven people have been killed in fires across the district this year.
From 2020: Two fires in a Michigan Road apartment complex displace about 70 people
‘She loved God, and she loved people’
Just a few days before the deadly fire, Johnson gifted Lunsford a new Lego set. The set was a food truck that serves slushies. Lunsford texted Johnson a photo after she put it together.
“Legos brought her a lot of joy and she was so fast,” Johnson said. “I don't think I could've read through the instructions in the amount of time it took her to put the sets together. Her brain was just architectural like that.”
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With the end of her master’s program in sight, Lunsford’s plans for the future were still up in the air. She talked about possibly moving home to Georgia or finding a new job opportunity in Indianapolis, Johnson said.
“Shatoria was the most inspirational person that I have come across,” Johnson said. “She loved God, and she loved people. She ran hard after both of those things. It was an honor to be part of her life."
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis apartment fire: Shatoria Lunsford loved Legos, gardening
