On the evening of October 7, 2015, a house party on Wanda Circle in southwest Atlanta ended in gunfire that killed 41-year-old Marquis Stephens. Friends had gathered for a fish fry and to watch television; while some men played dominoes in the dining room, two men identified as Kevin Reeves and Rodney Gibbs arrived. Gibbs entered the dining room and began shooting. Stephens, who was armed, fired back and struck Gibbs in the hand and thigh. Gibbs returned fire and fatally wounded Stephens in the abdomen. Witnesses took Stephens to a nearby hospital, where he died.

The subsequent investigation led police to Reeves and Gibbs. Both were arrested and indicted on charges including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Reeves was convicted of malice murder and other charges; Gibbs was convicted of felony murder and aggravated assault. The courts later affirmed those convictions.

What details about that night or about Marquis Stephens might help explain how the gathering turned so deadly?