Eric Terrell Rodgers, 28, died of a gunshot wound to the chest on February 18, 2015, in Yazoo City, Mississippi. He was taken to King’s Daughter Hospital but died shortly after arrival. Witnesses described the shooting as unintentional and said it occurred during what they called reckless horseplay among friends.

A lifelong friend, 26-year-old Eric Alton Lee, turned himself in and was initially charged with manslaughter. A grand jury later returned a murder indictment and the case went to trial. Lee’s defense said the death resulted from two friends playing around; witnesses, including relatives of Rodgers, consistently described the shooting as accidental.

In August 2016 a jury found Lee not guilty of murder. The verdict closed the criminal case but leaves the community with the tragic question of how a moment of careless handling turned fatal.