Keyandre Hightower, 24, was shot and killed the evening of July 13, 2024, on Evan Lane in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He had gone to a residence to drop off milk for his child and asked for a plate of food at a party when a verbal dispute began with a 17-year-old attendee, later identified as Julius Williams. Witnesses say Hightower punched the teenager; immediately afterward a single gunshot was heard and Hightower was struck in the neck and upper torso. Medics performed CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police arrested the 17-year-old shooter at or near the scene; the case was later moved into adult court and the suspect faces murder and multiple firearms charges and is being held on $1.5 million bond. Authorities also arrested 60-year-old Bridgette Smith of Hartford, who was charged with tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a handgun after she allegedly tried to remove a 9mm pistol reported stolen in 1996 from the shooting location.

Was anyone at that July 13 gathering able to see how the firearm came to be in the teens hands or who brought it to the party?