Man charged with firing bullets into the sky twice from rooftop
BOCA RATON — An argument between a father and son over suspected drug use may have caused bullets to rain down from the sky in Boca Raton, according to a police report.
Callers to 911 reported hearing gunfire on Monday at about 4 a.m. and again Thursday at about 2:30 a.m. on the roof of the Porta Bella South townhouse condominiums in the 800 block of East Jeffrey Street, police said.
Police arrived within minutes but found no one, just eight 9mm shell casings on the roof Monday and 10 more on Thursday.
Surveillance video from the guard house of the gated community recorded the sound of gunshots, but not anybody arriving or leaving the scene. Several residents and a property manager pointed police to an apartment where they believed the shooter may be living.
Ryan Mullen, 23, and Dogukan Kut, 22, were arrested Thursday afternoon after questioning.
According to the arrest report, Mullen said he was with his father in the Keys on Jan. 30 when his father kicked him out for suspicion of drug use. Mullen called a ride-sharing service to take him home to Boca Raton.
After initial denials, Mullen told detectives he got his father’s Glock 19 from a closet, kicked open the locked door to the roof, and fired several shots into the air. He said he never aimed the gun at people or cars parked down below, the report stated.
Mullen and Kut went back to the roof early Thursday but the door had been repaired and it had a deadbolt lock, the police report said, so both men kicked the door until it broke open and Mullen fired more shots in the air. Kut admitted to being on the roof but denied firing the gun, investigators said.
There were no reports of any injuries as a result of the falling bullets.
Mullen is facing charges that include firing a weapon in public, trespassing, and damaging property with criminal mischief.
Kut is facing charges of trespassing and property damage. Both were being held in the Palm Beach County Jail late Friday on bonds totaling $3,000 each, records showed.