A 50th birthday gathering in Stratford, Connecticut, ended in tragedy in the early morning of August 13, 2017, when 27-year-old Raenetta Catchings was shot and killed outside a North Avenue home. The party reportedly dissolved into a verbal argument that spilled into the street. Witnesses say Raenetta stepped in between her boyfriend, Marc Elliott, and her uncle, Michael Buddha Catchings, as tensions rose. Michael Catchings drew a firearm; two shots were fired. Raenetta was struck in the chest and pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital; her boyfriend was wounded in the abdomen and survived.

Michael Catchings later turned himself in and was charged with multiple counts, including first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and first-degree assault. Family statements noted a close, sibling-like relationship between uncle and niece and indicated the family did not want him prosecuted for homicide, while some accounts described the shooting as accidental during an intervention. What details about that confrontation might help explain how the shooting happened?