I think that the complainer shot the complainee, but the article does not make that clear.
I assume that there is no reason for the guy playing music too loud to "confront" the complainer.
The article says,
"Derhovansian had confronted the victim, who lived in the unit above him, and demanded he come downstairs."
So, if my assumption is correct, upstairs guy Avetisyan is playing the music too loud and is confronted by downstairs guy Derhovansian. Avetisyan goes downstairs and is shot and killed.
That's my guess, anyway.
Victim = complainee = young Armenian
Accused = complainer = old Armenian
Accused shot victim upstairs after victim refused accused’s request to go downstairs.
So…
Drunk, relatively young (35) Armenian upstairs playing music at 2:30 am at a volume loud enough to disturb the sleep of the old (66) Armenian downstairs.
Old Armenian finally convinces himself to get up, get dressed and, because you never know, arms himself to go upstairs to confront noise maker. So, after laboring upstairs and composing himself, old Armenian knocks on the door (maybe louder and louder) until young, drunk Armenian answers.
Details of their conversation are lacking (as are whether or not the two had a history of prior confrontations), but the pattern of it was probably something like:
“Too loud!”
“Is not!”
(Repeat 10+ times)
THEN
Old Armenian: “Ummm…this is getting nowhere. Why don’t you come downstairs and hear how loud it is in my apartment?”
Young Armenian: “F - - k You, Old Man! The only reason I’d come down stairs is to kick your a- -, m - - - - r f - - - r!”
Old Armenian: “No need to become violent. Just come and see how…”
Young Armenian: “Violent! Violent!! I’ll show you violent, you old b- - - - - d!”
Old Armenian” No! No! Wait…“
(Sound of gunfire.)
A couple of final thoughts:
Arming yourself in advance of entering a potential confrontation is a reasonable act and not necessarily evidence of premeditation.
Old men do not usually fight younger opponents; they either put up little to no defense (take the beating) or they just kill you.
The units were too close together. We should go back to single-family dwellings like the little house on the prairie.