'The best father': Broad Ripple shooting victim was a beloved family man, mentor, coach

The last time Veronica Gatewood talked to her son, Timothy Brown Jr., he told her, "I love you, Momma," and she said "I love you" back.

On Friday, she called him again and left him a voicemail, telling him, as she always does, that she loves him.

Brown was killed a few hours later in one of the latest incidents of gun violence in Indianapolis this year. The 37-year-old and five other people were shot at a Broad Ripple bar early Saturday morning. The others survived, but Brown died at the hospital, leaving behind his parents, his younger brother and his 5-year-old daughter.

None of what happened makes sense to Gatewood.

Broad Ripple shooting: Six men shot, one dead, at Landsharks bar

Her son never sought or attracted trouble. He graduated from college with a double major in graphic design and fitness. He was a graphic designer, a wrestling coach, an MMA fighter, a mentor and a man of faith. He was a barber who occasionally cut kids' hair for free, knowing they couldn't afford it. He was the kind of man who opened doors for women and the kind of father who could not go a single day without seeing his daughter's face.

"You couldn't tell me that a man that does everything right ... would be killed like this," said Gatewood, whose words were drowned by her sobs. "My son was no street goon. He was an upstanding man.... He didn't deserve this.... He took care of his daughter. I don't understand."

Questions over 'senseless' shooting linger

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced Saturday night that 25-year-old Nicholas Fulk has been arrested in connection to the shooting. Fulk is now facing a preliminary murder charge.

The Marion County Coroner's Office had not released Brown's name as of Sunday afternoon, but his family and friends have been speaking out to commemorate him.

Police said the shooting happened inside the Landsharks bar just after 1 a.m. Five men with gunshot wounds were taken to area hospitals. A sixth man arrived at an area hospital in his own transportation.

Investigators have not said what precipitated the shooting or how an armed person was able to enter the bar.

IMPD Police Chief Chris Bailey said the agency cannot control security protocols at individual businesses, and Broad Ripple bars have a responsibility to ensure their patrons have a safe experience in their establishments.

The majority of bars do so, but those that do not "should be held accountable," Bailey said in a statement Saturday.

Broad Ripple Village Association Executive Director Jordan Dillon said several bars in the entertainment district use metal detecting wands at their doors, but she did not know what safety procedures were in place at Landsharks.

Gatewood said her son, who occasionally works as a bartender and bouncer at multiple Broad Ripple bars, was bartending Saturday night. She has many questions, all of which have yet to be answered — and some which may never be answered: How did a gun get inside? How did it happen? Why did her son, who has a young daughter to raise, have to die?

Broad Ripple violence: Village seeks gun-free zone designation for weekends after deadly shooting

The bar's owners did not return a call seeking comment Sunday.

Brown and his daughter's mother share joint custody, and he was paying child support, Gatewood said. She said her son and granddaughter talk on FaceTime every morning and every night.

"I lost my son to senseless violence," Gatewood said. "I don't get that."

The shooting is the latest violence in the popular entertainment district. Last summer, a deadly shooting in the area prompted some bar owners to close their doors two hours early temporarily. Around the same time, the Broad Ripple Village Association requested a gun-free zone designation for weekends.

'Everybody that knew him loved him'

Brown began wrestling when he was in ninth grade, his mother said. Those who knew Brown described him as a soft-spoken man who used combat sports to mentor kids from different socio-economic backgrounds.

"He was a wrestler at heart. From a coaching standpoint, that's what gave him his biggest interaction with youth, was coaching them through wrestling," said Nick Hull, one of Brown's closest friends who runs his own wrestling program in Indianapolis. "He dealt with a lot of kids from a variety of backgrounds. He made an impact with a lot of the other inner city kids. He dealt with kids who have single parents. He was there to help keep them straight."

By Saturday morning, word had spread quickly among the small and tight-knit wrestling community that Brown has died, Hull said. Over the weekend, several who knew Brown took to Facebook to share their thoughts about him.

"Very difficult conversation to have first thing this morning when the kids woke up letting them know their wrestling coach passed," Charnise Butler Kerns wrote on Facebook. "Coach Brown was so mild mannered and always nice."

Hull said he will most remember Brown as someone with a "genuinely pure soul," who was always there to help without a complaint and with a smile on his face.

"Everybody that knew him loved him, but everybody that knew him knew that he loved his daughter," Hull said. "As good of a guy he was, he was a better father. He was the best father."

IndyStar reporter Rory Appleton contributed to this story. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Broad Ripple, Landsharks shooting victim Timothy Brown a beloved coach