On the night of August 12, 2006, a birthday gathering on Royal Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, turned deadly when gunfire erupted during a clash between members of the Asian Boyz and the Bloods. Samnang Oth, a 21-year-old man from Chelsea of Cambodian descent who had planned to stay at the party only a few hours, was struck in the chest by a single bullet that punctured his lung. He died in the backyard in his brother’s arms.

According to accounts of the incident, the fight began inside the multi-family house and spilled outside after members of the Asian Boyz on the second floor began throwing bottles and other items at a first-floor apartment where Bloods affiliates were gathered. A 14-year-old associate of the Bloods, Billeoum Phan, fired one shot into the crowd that hit Oth. The killing was recorded as the city’s ninth homicide that year.

A charged shooter later argued he fired in self-defense amid the escalating violence; the jury did not uphold a murder charge and found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Did anyone who attended that party or knew Samnang Oth notice tensions between the groups earlier in the night?