Man Complains About Child Noise, Shoots Two Men With AK-47

A birthday party in Oregon ended in gunfire on Tuesday night. A 59-year-old man was accused of opening fire on his neighbors with an assault rifle after he complained that one of their children was making too much noise during a birthday party.

Police in Newport, Oregon, heard about shots being fired near an apartment complex just after 9 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the police report. Two men, later identified as Jose Gaeta and Tristan Smith, both 20, had allegedly been shot by their downstairs neighbor, 59-year-old Franklin L. Tomes.

Tomes was reportedly unhappy with the noise Gaeta’s children were making in the apartment above his during a birthday party, according to The Oregonian. He is said to h have argued with the two younger men in the parking lot of the apartment complex before retrieving his AK-47 rifle from his car and aiming it at them.

The two men reportedly ran away, prompting Tomes to open fire. He unleashed at least a dozen rounds from the AK-47, according to The Oregonian’s report. Smith was hit in the shoulder while Gaeta was hit three times, with two of the bullets landing in different legs. Around seven additional rounds went into the Smith’s apartment, which contained his mother and her boyfriend at the time.

Those rounds hit a back wall in the apartment and did not result in any injuries. After Tomes fired on the two younger men, he reportedly retreated back to his apartment and engaged in something of a standoff with police for around five hours after they arrived. After 2 a.m., police managed to contact him by phone and he surrendered, according to KATU-2.

The two victims were eventually taken to a hospital in Corvallis, Oregon, where they were said to be in stable condition. Gaeta’s family created a GoFundMe campaign to cover medical expenses.

Tomes was charged with two counts of attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon.