Cunningham, 43, of the 2000 block of Wedgewood Drive in Jennings, was charged Monday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Lessie E. Lowe, 44.
Lowe, who lived on Hiller Place, is the maternal uncle of Cunningham, police say.
The men were at a home on Hiller Place when they argued over whether the cuts of meat they were planning to cook were pork steaks or pork chops, police say. It was not clear late Tuesday which cut they had.
After the argument became physical about 1 a.m. Monday, the two had to be separated by someone else in the home, police say. Cunningham went to another part of the home, grabbed a shotgun and shot Lowe, police said.
Lowe died later at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Cunningham was taken into custody.
L.C. Lowe of Hazelwood, who is Lessie Lowe's oldest brother and one of 17 siblings, said Lessie Lowe was a "smart young man" who liked to fix cars and make other repairs. L.C. Lowe said he wasn't at the home on Hiller Place when his brother was slain, but that he knew Cunningham and his brother were close and liked to hang around together.
