A Missouri man allegedly killed his neighbor after confronting the victim for making noises that officials said were all in the suspect's head.
A Missouri man allegedly killed his neighbor after confronting the victim for making noises that officials said were all in the suspect’s head.
Ya-Ping “Peter” Chang was watching a movie with his girlfriend on Saturday when 26-year-old James Blanton, wearing a bullet-resistant vest and armed with a handgun, banged on his door, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote.
Blanton allegedly told Chang, 35, to “turn down the bass” before shooting him dead in his apartment door about 3:30 p.m., the paper wrote.
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Officials said Blanton waited for cops outside the Maryland Heights apartment and said he killed Chang in self-defense.
A handgun was recovered at the scene, KMOV-TV reported. Blanton did not have a conceal-carry permit for a firearm, officials said.
"The suspect claims he wanted them to 'turn the bass down,' but the victim wasn't playing any music," Major Joe Delia of the Maryland Heights Police Department told the Post-Dispatch.
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Blanton reportedly had a history of complaining to his neighbors about their noise.
“He’s gone to everyone’s apartment knocking about noise and music from time to time. It was scary. It was right next door,” neighbor Kelly Miller told KMOV-TV.
Blanton was charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. His bail was set at $500,000.
It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney or if he had entered a plea.
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