An Indiana tenant said a neighbor’s boyfriend accidentally fired a gun into their apartment, and the bullet traveled close enough to where the poster’s husband had been standing that the couple no longer felt safe living there.
According to the Reddit post, the tenant was in the kitchen, and her husband was partly in the kitchen near the bar area, when the shot came through the wall from the apartment next door.
The bullet reportedly entered about two feet high through the kitchen wall, went down into the carpet, came out on the other side of the carpet behind where her husband had been standing, and ended up lodged in a reclining couch. The tenant said they called police right away.
She explained the situation in a Reddit thread and asked what might happen in the criminal case: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/1m4c5c1/neighbor_shot_into_my_apartment/
The bullet crossed several parts of the apartment
The path of the bullet made the incident feel especially frightening.
This was not just a hole in a wall that nobody noticed until later. The poster described the round coming through the kitchen wall, hitting the carpet, exiting behind where her husband had been standing, and ending up in a couch.
That kind of path is terrifying because it shows how little control anyone in the victim’s apartment had once the trigger was pulled next door.
The couple did not need to be involved in an argument. They did not need to be standing outside. They were just inside their own apartment when someone else’s gun handling sent a round into their living space.
Police took the gun that night
The poster said they called police immediately.
According to her comments, officers took the neighbor’s gun that night. She also said the neighbor’s boyfriend was charged with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon.
That detail changed the thread from a simple landlord complaint into a criminal-case question.
The tenant was not just asking who should pay for the damage. She wanted to know whether the charge might stay a felony, whether it could be reduced to a misdemeanor, and what might happen when the case went to trial or plea negotiations.
Commenters were careful not to predict the outcome too strongly.
The charge was tied to recklessness, not intent
One commenter explained that the case did not necessarily require proving the shooter meant to hurt anyone.
That was important. A negligent or accidental discharge can still become a serious criminal matter if the conduct is reckless and a deadly weapon is involved.
The poster said the charge was listed as a Level 6 felony in Indiana. Commenters discussed the possibility that it could be reduced through a plea deal, especially if the shooter had little criminal history and showed remorse.
But nobody could guarantee that. The facts, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, and evidence would all matter.
The key point was that “it was an accident” did not automatically make the case disappear.
The shooter allegedly hurt his own hand
The poster added another strange detail in the comments.
She said the shooter had injured his hand during the incident and that a chunk was missing. She also said he allegedly tried to tell police the injury happened at work.
That detail stood out because it suggested panic after the shot.
Commenters pointed out that lying to police was not a good look, even if the shooter was scared and injured. The poster seemed to understand that, but she also described him as remorseful afterward.
She said he apologized, was upset and scared, and her husband even hugged him and told him they forgave him.
That made the story more complicated emotionally. The couple was angry and scared, but they also did not seem to want the man’s life destroyed.
The couple moved out after the incident
One of the most important details was buried in the follow-up comments.
The poster said the neighbor moved out after the shooting, and so did she and her husband. She said they no longer felt safe there.
That reaction makes sense. Once a bullet comes through an apartment wall, the apartment does not feel like home in the same way.
Even if the gun was taken, even if the shooter apologized, and even if nobody was seriously hurt, the couple had already experienced the thing every tenant fears in shared housing: someone else’s dangerous mistake crossing into their home.
The physical damage may have been repairable. The trust was not.
The landlord question still mattered
The Reddit thread centered on the criminal case, but the housing side was hard to ignore.
When a tenant’s apartment is hit by gunfire from another unit, management cannot treat it like a normal maintenance ticket. There may be damage to the wall, flooring, and furniture. There may also be questions about lease violations, safety, and whether the affected tenant can leave without penalty.
In a situation like this, the tenant would want everything in writing.
That means police report numbers, photos of damage, communication with management, repair records, and any written request about moving units or ending the lease.
The post did not lay out every landlord response, but the safety concern was obvious.
Commenters said no one could predict the court result
The poster wanted to know whether the neighbor’s boyfriend would be convicted, whether he might get a plea deal, and whether the charge would likely drop to a misdemeanor.
Commenters gave the honest answer: no one could know for sure.
Several said plea deals are common. One commenter said the charge might be reduced, especially because the man did not appear to have a serious record. Another said if the case went to trial, it could depend heavily on the evidence and how the prosecution framed the recklessness.
That uncertainty frustrated the poster, but it was realistic. Reddit could explain possibilities. It could not tell her what a prosecutor, judge, or jury would do months later.
The victims might have to testify
One commenter told the poster to be prepared to testify if subpoenaed.
That is an important part of cases like this. Even if the victims forgive the person, the state can still prosecute. The case is not always controlled by whether the people in the apartment want punishment.
The poster said she hoped they would not be subpoenaed, but if they were, they would testify truthfully.
That is the awkward position victims sometimes end up in after a reckless accident. They may not hate the person who caused it. They may believe it was a mistake. But they still have to tell the court what happened because the bullet entered their home.
Forgiveness did not erase the fear
The poster’s comments were unusually compassionate.
She said they had forgiven him and did not want him to suffer severe consequences. She also said she was mad, angry, and scared because they could have been shot.
Both feelings can be true.
A person can forgive someone and still want accountability. A person can believe an incident was accidental and still move out because they no longer feel safe.
That is what made the thread feel real. It was not written like someone trying to destroy a neighbor. It was written like someone who survived a frightening event and wanted to understand what would happen next.
Shared walls make gun mistakes everyone’s problem
This story shows why negligent gun handling inside apartments is so serious.
The person holding the gun may think they are only risking their own space. But a bullet does not care where the lease line is. It can pass through drywall, flooring, furniture, and into another family’s kitchen or living room before anyone has time to react.
In this case, the tenant said the round traveled behind where her husband had been standing and ended up in their couch.
Nobody died. Nobody in the victim’s apartment was shot. But that outcome sounds more like luck than safety.
The practical lessons were clear: call police immediately, preserve the report, photograph the damage, notify management in writing, follow up on repairs or lease options, and understand that the criminal case may move forward even if everyone agrees the shot was accidental.
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