KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Just hours before she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting near The Vibe in North Knoxville, 25-year-old Jessie Roberts was at the concert of one of her favorite artists with her wife and sister-in-law.
"We were dancing and singing, and we were looking at her like, 'she has not missed one verse yet,'" Roberts's sister-in-law Dashaughnessy Gallaher said. "She was so excited, and just to see how excited she was I was like, 'there's no way I'm going to pass this up.'"
They decided to get some food on the way home and went to the Krystal on Broadway.
As they sat in the drive-thru line, they started to hear gunshots but could not tell where they were coming from.
"She was like, 'I’m ready to go because bullets don’t have eyes.' That’s the last thing she said," Gallaher said.
Before they could get the car out of park, Roberts had been shot through the passenger door.
According to Knoxville Police, the shots came from the parking lot and the street in front of The Vibe nightclub, located a couple of blocks down and across the street from the Krystal.
"All I could see is she was coughing up blood. And all I could tell her is, 'I love you, we love you, it’s going to be okay,'" Gallaher said.
They tried to get help, but it was too late.
"And all I can do is, 'there-there' and I can look and I can hold you. But I cannot help you because you're in pain and I don't know what I need to do to stop this bullet from making you hurt," Gallaher said.
Roberts was driven to the KPD East Precinct, on Whittle Springs Road, before being taken to UT Medical Center where she died from her injuries, according to investigators.
Now her family is trying to understand how this could have happened.
"She didn’t deserve this, we were just trying to get food and go home," said Roberts's wife, Dachaera Crowley.
Crowley said she does not think Roberts's 7-year-old son, Princeton, understands what happened.
"Jessie was a fun and loving wife and mother and daughter," Crowley said.
They say they'll always remember her infectious smile.
"She was just one of those people; she was vibrant," Gallaher said.
The Edgewood Park neighborhood association, which is located near The Vibe nightclub, will hold a community meeting on Thursday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Christenberry Rec Center to discuss community concerns.
On Tuesday, Krystal's president and CEO released a statement about the weekend shooting that killed Roberts.
"We at Krystal are saddened by this senseless tragedy and extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Roberts' family, friends and loved ones," the statement from Paul Macaluso reads. "As a father, my heart breaks for her young son, who will grow up without his mother's loving presence. Our Krystal family is holding him close in our thoughts and prayers."