On the evening of February 20, 2016, Mary Jo Nye, 60, was gunned down in Kalamazoo, Michigan, while sitting in a car in the Cracker Barrel restaurant parking lot with her sister-in-law Mary Lou Nye and friends Dorothy Brown and Barbara Hawthorne. The four women had spent the day together and were returning from a night at the theater when an assailant opened fire, killing all four. A 14-year-old girl in another vehicle was also critically injured in the same attack.

Mary Jo Nye was a retired English teacher from Battle Creek and a founding teacher at Calhoun Community High School, an alternative high school where she mentored at-risk students. Even after retiring she continued tutoring, and her death was described as a profound loss to family, friends, and the students she had helped.

Police arrested Jason Brian Dalton in the early morning hours after the shootings and charged him with multiple counts including six counts of murder and two counts of assault with intent to commit murder. His motive has not been established. Did anyone who knew Mary Jo or the other victims see them that night or have information about the events leading up to the shootings?