Image via Local 12/WKRC
An Ohio couple is afraid for their lives after getting a violent message from their neighbor.
Brown County resident Nathan Paris and his partner moved to a two-acre parcel in 2012. They created a home out of a shipping container and have lived there for the past two years. But, things have gotten difficult with a homophobic neighbor.
The couple say that they started fighting with the neighbor, whose identity was not disclosed, around February.
“He was saying ‘f**,’” stated Paris to local news source Local 12. “I said, ‘Yeah I’m a f**. You got a problem with it?’ And he just kept going and calling me ‘f**’ and ‘gay’ and ‘queer.’ That was the conversation at that point.”
Shortly after that incident, Paris returned home one day to find his car upside down and burned.
“Oh no. Oh my God, it’s burnt. He burnt it. Holy s**t, that was yellow. He caught it on fire,” Paris expressed.
Nathan Paris (right) and partner / Image via Nathan Paris
According to a sheriff’s report, the neighbor denied turning the car over. He also complained about the couple not having installed a septic system.
According to Paris, the situation then became even more dangerous. He says the neighbor started shooting at him and his partner.
“We heard the bullets going by our head,” explained Paris. “It was terrifying. We didn’t know what to do. We jumped down on the ground. We were hiding. We called the police as soon as it happened.”
Apparently, a second shooting incident happened and eventually, the neighbor was arrested. Though, he was arrested for drunk driving. Despite that, the chief deputy sheriff for Brown County says he’s taking the case seriously.
“Hopefully it ends with the neighbors learning how to get along with each other,” said Chief Deputy Chris Hodges. “If it doesn’t and continues to escalate, it’s going to end up with someone getting criminally charged or possibly incarcerated.”
On the matter, Paris says that he will not be intimidated to move away.
