Keith L. Bender Jr., a 35-year-old Army veteran, was shot during an altercation at the C.C.C. Nightclub on 8 Mile Road in Detroit in the early morning of April 11, 2006. The dispute began over a game of pool and escalated into a physical fight with rapper Deshaun Holton, known as Proof. Witnesses say Holton produced a handgun, pistol-whipped Bender, and shot him in the head. Bender was taken to St. John Hospital and Medical Center and died on April 18, 2006, after a week in critical condition.

According to accounts, Bender’s cousin Mario Etheridge, working as a bouncer that night, intervened and fired at Holton to protect his cousin. Holton was struck and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Etheridge later turned himself in and was not charged with Proof’s murder after authorities concluded he acted in defense of another person; he was convicted on counts of carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm inside a building and received time served and a fine. Bender’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Holton’s estate and issued public pleas for peace.

Does anyone have further details about Bender’s life, the club confrontation, or witnesses who were there that night?