RICHMOND, Va. -- Kenneth Lawson, a 37-year-old father of five, was shot and killed early Christmas morning in Richmond, according to his family members and Richmond Police.
Lawson, who owned a landscaping company, was inside the Wing Bar on East Main Street in Shockoe Bottom when a gunman opened fire at about 12:50 a.m. on Christmas morning.
Friends described him as caring, funny, and the kind of guy who made sure others around him were okay.
Lawson was one of four people hit in the shooting.
The victims included another man and two women, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett.
Those sources also said the shooting stemmed from an earlier altercation inside the restaurant. They indicated the shooter left the business and returned with the gun.
The shooter, according to witnesses, was outside the restaurant when a security guard attempted to check him for weapons, the man pulled out a gun, shot the guard, and fired rounds into the business.
Lawson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other victims were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A fourth shooting victim suffered non-life threatening injuries.
At this time, police have not released any information about the shooter.
Lawson leaves behind a wife, children ages 20, 19, 17, and 11, and a three-year-old granddaughter.
"I’m looking for justice. Somebody knows who killed my son. "
On Sunday, Lawson's friends and family gathered near where the shooting occured to pray and speak out against gun violence.
Vanessa Winkler, Lawson's mother, said that she is looking for justice.
"I’m looking for justice. Somebody knows who killed my son. Somebody knows who killed my son, there was a whole club. Just help me find out who killed my son," she said. "Like every Christmas my son came to see me. It was Christmas morning, and I was going to wait for my son to come see me before I left my house, and I got a call at 1:38 in the morning saying my son had been shot."
Lawson begged members of the community to not let the shooting - or search for the suspect - spur more violence. "
Please don’t take nobody’s life. Don’t look for him, don’t ask about it, let the police handle it. Don’t give nobody else’s mother the opportunity to grieve," she said.
Lawson's wife Robinette Fields described her husband as a man who loved his kids and life.
"I love how he loved our kids. I loved how he loved them. He loved our children. He loved everybody though," she said. "He’s just so happy and full of life, always smiling. Goofy, playing, singing dancing. Just everything."
This is a developing story. Witnesses can send news tips here.
Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
