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Vigil held for father gunned down outside of Movie Tavern

His wife told us it was the younger child, their daughter, he was protecting that night.

A man is arrested for the murder of a father outside a north Houston movie theater. Monday night, the victim's family held a vigil in the parking lot calling for justice.

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Surrounded by candlelight and singing, Johnnie Catling's family came to grieve.

They dressed in camouflage in memory of the 43-year-old father.

"He loved to hunt fish, anything outdoors," said Arrunn Delaney, a cousin.

Relatives tried to find comfort even though they still have questions.

"Why, why? What was the point, was it worth it?" asked Delaney.

We counted nearly 40-shell casings in the Movie Tavern parking lot where Catling was shot and left to die by his truck on Friday night. Between those casings were strands of hair from what deputies say started it all, a fight between two women pulling each others hair out.

"He was protecting me and my daughter," said Nyka Washington, his wife.

Catling's wife says her husband stepped in to try and calm the situation down. That's when deputies say Jamari Martinez, 30, an acquaintance of the other woman involved, opened fire.

"He never caused a soul any trouble," said Washington.

The family didn't want to tell us why they were in the parking lot that night. They only wanted to say this about Martinez.

"They took away a good person and I just want him to get justice," said Washington.

"We'll be at every court date that he has because you killed an innocent person," said Delaney.

Catling leaves behind his wife, Nyka, and two children ages 16 and 12.

His wife told us it was the younger child, their daughter, he was protecting that night.

Related: Police arrest suspect in theater shooting

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