Barbara Ann Hawthorne, 68, was one of six people killed in a series of random shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on February 20, 2016. The attacks began around 6:00 p.m., with the gunman driving across the area and firing at multiple locations over several hours.

Hawthorne was in the Cracker Barrel parking lot with three friends — Mary Jo Nye, Mary Lou Nye, and Dorothy Brown — when they were all fatally shot. A 14-year-old who was with them was critically injured but survived. Earlier that evening the gunman had shot and killed Richard and Tyler Smith at a car dealership and wounded another woman at an apartment complex. The suspect was later arrested in downtown Kalamazoo; a semi-automatic handgun was recovered and he admitted to the shootings.

Charges filed included six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, and multiple firearm counts. The case proceeded through competency evaluations and pretrial motions before a guilty plea and life sentences were entered in 2019.

Did anyone who knew Barbara Hawthorne or the other victims notice anything unusual about that evening or the people they were with?