Ellesha Rice, 24, was killed in a mass shooting at a short-term rental in Katy, Texas, on January 21, 2024. The shooting occurred in the early hours during a birthday gathering for 24-year-old Michael Odobo. About 10 to 20 people were at the Russet Leaf Trace property when an altercation escalated and multiple shots were fired inside and outside the house. Rice, her fiancé Nicholas King, 24, and Odobo were killed; two others were wounded. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the scene as very chaotic.

Rice had recently graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio with a criminal justice degree and was preparing to enter law school, with ambitions to become a judge. Her family said she worked full-time while excelling academically and was devoted to improving society through her chosen field. On February 1, 2024, 25-year-old Jaylon McIntyre of Port Arthur was arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the three deaths; he had been in custody since January 24 on an aggravated assault charge from the same day as the killings and prosecutors moved to hold him without bond.

Does anyone who attended that gathering or lived nearby have information about what sparked the altercation?