Man accused of answering pro-Trump neighbors’ honk with a gunshot

Police have booked resident Douglas Kuhn with multiple charges, including assault.

Neal Houk and his son said they honked their horn at Kuhn, their neighbour, from their pickup truck, which has a large Trump sign in the back, as he was putting a Black Lives Matter sign up in his yard.

“He reached down. He had a shotgun right there, pulled it out and pointed it right at… and we were in disbelief. Next thing we heard was a shotgun blast,” Houk told CBS Baltimore.

Another neighbor corroborated the story, saying he’d heard a single blast.

No one was hurt, and it was unclear whether the round caused any damage to Houk’s vehicle, but police tracked down Kuhn as the man accused of firing the shot. They said they found a 12-gauge shotgun on his property and took the 50-year-old into custody.

“We see what’s going on in the country, and I really didn’t expect it right here at home,” Houk said. “To hear the gunshot, we were rattled. I’m shaking just talking about it.”

Houk said he had never met nor even seen Kuhn before.

“People are taking the politics a little too serious,” said the other neighbor, who wished to be identified only as Todd. He added that he knew at least a couple political signs had been stolen previously from Kuhn’s property, but stressed that he believed the response was unjustified.

“For someone to take it that far, you gotta be filled with a lot of rage to go out and put a sign up and carry a 12-gauge with you,” Todd said.

Kuhn is facing multiple assault and reckless endangerment charges and a felony firearm charge.

“Hopefully, this division in the country can get better because it’s not good,” Todd said.

If convicted Kuhn faces up to 100 years in prison, but Houk said he doesn’t want to see his neighbor face that kind of punishment. He told CBS Baltimore his honking was good natured.