A Mardi Gras gathering in Maringouin, Louisiana, in February 2018 ended in tragedy when 26-year-old Christopher Ray-Ray Carter was shot and killed. The shooting followed a brief confrontation after two men, Larry West and his uncle Danny Smith, drove past Carter’s grandmother’s home and returned because they felt the group there had given them dirty looks. An exchange of words escalated and West fired, fatally striking Carter in the back of the head and wounding Carter’s cousin.

Danny Smith turned himself in to authorities within hours of the shooting. Larry West was arrested nearly two weeks later with assistance from the Louisiana State Police Fugitive Task Force and was charged with murder, attempted murder, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In September 2022 West’s trial began; after about three and a half hours of deliberation a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and other charges, a verdict Carter’s mother described as relief after waiting for justice.

Does anyone have memories of the neighborhood or the gathering that night that could add context to what happened?