‘Giggling’ neighbors provoke man to fire AK-47 more than a dozen times, Ill. cops say

An Illinois man upset with his neighbors’ laughter is accused of firing more than a dozen rounds from his AK-47 rifle, police said.

It was about 2 a.m. Sunday when Steven Mendoza, 24, heard a group of about six to eight visitors hanging out in his neighbor’s yard in Gilberts, a town in northeastern Illinois, according to a Facebook post by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

When he heard them “giggling outside of his window,” Mendoza got upset, prosecutors said. He’s accused of grabbing his AK-47 rifle and shooting 14 rounds in the air toward the nearby intersection of Interstate 90 and Highway 72, prosecutors said.

Mendoza was arrested and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, prosecutors said. If he posts $10,000 bond, a judge ordered that Mendoza must temporarily give up all his guns, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 6:50 PM with the headline "‘Giggling’ neighbors provoke man to fire AK-47 more than a dozen times, Ill. cops say."