Dead of night. A momentarily lost cell phone. Chance meeting. Words exchanged.

Then, gunfire.

“My sister called me about 1:30 a.m. (Friday) and said, 'Adam's just been shot. He's dead,'” said John Rivers.

Adam Selfridge, 37, of Butler, Rivers' brother-in-law, was fatally shot near the corner of West Cunningham Street and Wagner Avenue — barely a block from his home, according to authorities.

An autopsy determined he died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

Butler police are investigating the fatal shooting — and a related stabbing — but they are releasing few details about the case.

Rivers on Saturday spoke to the Butler Eagle, sharing in part the eyewitness account of his sister — Selfridge's wife.

The 42-year-old Rivers, who lives in Butler Township, said he was sleeping when his older sister called with the news of Selfridge's shooting death.

Selfridge was married to Rivers' younger sister, Rebecca. They are the parents of two children, a 7-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. The couple married in October 2012.

After getting the phone call Friday, Rivers said he immediately drove to the home in the 400 block of West Cunningham Street, where Selfridge and Rebecca lived with their kids. Rivers' other sister had been staying there, too, that night.

“I saw my sisters standing on the corner,” Rivers said, “and police roping off the area.” Rebecca was crying.

He coaxed them to get back into their home.

“Becky's husband was laying in the street,” he said, “and covered in a sheet.”

At the house, Rebecca recounted that Selfridge a short time earlier had made a late night walk to a 24-hour convenience store. When he returned, he told her he accidentally dropped his cell phone and couldn't find it.

He got a flashlight and Rebecca went with him to search for it. Before long, two men came upon the couple.

“They started to make trouble with Adam,” Rivers said, “running their mouths. Adam said something back.”

One of the men purportedly said, “I'll shoot you.” Adam replied, “What are you talking about, dude?”

Rebecca, who did not recognize either man, found the missing phone and she and Selfridge turned to walk back home.

“One of the guys started to follow,” Rivers said. “He was still mouthing off, saying stuff.”

The other unknown man walked away, and Rebecca last saw him headed toward Main Street.

Selfridge at some point turned around and got in front of his wife. He moved toward the man who was still there.

“Becky said she heard five to six shots,” Rivers said. “(Selfridge) hit the ground.”

She did not see the gun, Rivers said, but she saw “muzzle flashes.”

Rebecca also saw the man take off running.

“She hovered over Adam and tried doing (chest) compressions,” Rivers said of his sister. A friend also tried to help. “But it was too late.”

A call to the 911 center at 1:25 a.m. reported gunshots fired.

At 1:35 a.m., about a mile from the shooting on Zeigler Avenue, authorities said, a man called 911 to report that he had been stabbed in the torso.

Police identified the stabbing victim as 35-year-old Raymond Covelli. They gave no address for him.

They also did not immediately know if someone else possibly drove him to Zeigler Avenue following the shooting and stabbing.

He was taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to an unknown Pittsburgh hospital where he underwent surgery.

The extent of his injuries and his condition were not available. Police did not speak to him before he was taken to the hospital.

Investigators said they believe Selfridge stabbed Covelli before he was shot.

But Rebecca said she never saw her husband with a knife during the confrontation with the other man, Rivers said.

“It happened so fast,” he said, referring to his sister's account of what occurred.

Police at the scene recovered a pocket knife near Selfridge's body. Investigators suspect that was his knife that he used to stab Covelli.

Rivers said he saw police also identify several shell casings.

“All the casings were around (Selfridge),” he said.

Where those casings ended up, Rivers' surmised, indicated his brother-in-law was shot close up.

“I can't believe (Rebecca) wasn't hit,” he added.

Following the shooting, Rebecca went to the police station and provided investigators with written and audio-recorded statements.

Rivers said his younger sister is still trying to come to grips with what happened.

“She watched her husband get killed,” he said. “She's distraught. She has a big hole in her heart.”