A holiday gathering in Damascus, Maryland, ended in a deadly shooting that left 40-year-old Mario Alberto Perez dead. The incident occurred at the home of Francisco A. Trujillo on Ridge Road during a December evening just days before Christmas. Perez had been invited to the house and was there with his girlfriend and his 8-year-old son when an argument over a work issue, fueled by alcohol, escalated for nearly an hour.

Police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from the residence around 12:30 a.m. on December 21, 2015, and found Perez on the main level with a gunshot wound to his torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Trujillo was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder and held without bond. The wife’s 911 call described Perez as intoxicated and threatening; Trujillo said Perez charged at him and he fired one shot in self-defense. A grand jury did not indict on the murder charge, and the State’s Attorney’s Office declined to pursue further criminal charges.

Did anyone who attended that gathering or who knew Perez or Trujillo see signs the argument would turn violent?