Accused gunman had airhorn to ‘drown out’ sound, OR cops say. Then came miracle

A man has been sentenced in a 2023 shooting that left an man experiencing homelessness dead, Oregon prosecutors said.

In February 2023, Portland officers responded to a shooting and found Torn Saephan dead in the road, according to a July 10 news release by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

Saephan had been in the area throughout the day and spoke with two women who lived in a nearby tent, prosecutors said.

They didn’t know Saephan and asked him to move areas, so he moved across the street, the district attorney’s office said.

Later that day, a woman and a man, later identified as Brandon Nicholas Gilpin, arrived in a car with no plates, then confronted Saephan, prosecutors said.

Gilpin told Saephan to leave the area entirely, and when he stood up, Gilpin fired the gun, killing him, and left the area, prosecutors said.

Attorney information for Gilpin was not listed in the release.

The women Saephan had spoken to earlier in the day saw the shooting, the district attorney’s office said.

Two days later, Gilpin returned to the area, demanding to know what the women had told police, prosecutors said.

He pointed a gun at them and had brought an airhorn he planned to use to “drown out the sound of the shots,” officials said.

The airhorn malfunction, and “the pause” allowed the witnesses to get away uninjured, officials said.

Gilpin pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm and two counts of attempted murder with a firearm, prosecutors said.

On July 9, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, officials said.

“This case involved shocking amounts of violence and criminal behavior over a short time. The defendant caused a tidal wave of fear and grief that I am certain is still being felt to this day. He killed one person and tried to kill two more. I hope this sentence allows the people affected by these crimes to continue to try and heal,” Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Devin Franklin said in the release.

This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Accused gunman had airhorn to ‘drown out’ sound, OR cops say. Then came miracle."