Ryan Joshua Bates was 19 when he was fatally shot multiple times on July 16, 2019, in a northwest Harris County apartment complex parking lot in Houston. Authorities say the encounter grew out of what was believed to be a drug deal; Bates reportedly did not know the person who met him.

Police arrested 17-year-old William Underwood of Magnolia on August 8, 2019, charging him with murder. Court records say Underwood, nicknamed Ziggy, met Bates to buy marijuana and later claimed he thought Bates was going to rob him, deploying a Taser and then a firearm. Prosecutors say Underwood posted a video from the scene on Snapchat. Underwood pleaded not guilty and his attorney defended the shooting as self-defense; bond was initially set at $250,000 and later reduced to $75,000.

Bates’ family described him as funny and kind and said he was randomly targeted. What additional information about the meeting or the video might help explain how the encounter escalated to deadly violence?