24-Year-Old Wants to Tell Her Neighbor’s Son to Go to the Police Next Time — Reddit Pointed Out the Contradictions in Her Own Story

A 24-year-old woman's Reddit post asking whether it would be wrong to leave a note telling her 84-year-old neighbor and the neighbor's son to contact the police instead of approaching her directly has divided the r/AmItheAsshole thread — with most commenters pointing out the contradictions in her own account.

According to the post, the woman was walking her dog when a man she believed to be in his late 40s approached her. He identified himself as the son of her downstairs neighbor and claimed that the noises coming from the apartment above were keeping his mother up at night.

The son allegedly told her that he and his mother like to deal with the matter directly, though building management told tenants to report noise complaints to the police.

The woman said that she was caught off guard by the encounter, especially as the man first asked if she lived in a specific apartment. She felt he was making baseless accusations because she had just gotten back from a five-day trip out of town. She acknowledged in her post that she had a heated argument with her partner right before her trip.

She said the argument lasted only a few minutes but acknowledged that late-night raised voices in an apartment building carry.

According to the post, the woman confessed to using a vape pen in her bedroom weeks before, but she denied routinely smoking inside her apartment. She guessed that other neighbors who smoke outside could be the source of any lasting smell. Even though she apologized to the son, she said she was somewhat uneasy with this approach and might write a note asking that any future complaints be directed to management or police enforcement.

A lot of Reddit commenters, however, think that a letter like that would be uncalled for. One of the responses paid attention to the story's contradictions: The woman first denied making any noise before revealing the late-night fight with her partner. Another commenter joked that after first denying smoking, she later admitted to using a vape pen.

Many argued that the son was just defending his elderly mother and trying to resolve the conflict without the police. Others said that older people would be uncomfortable talking to their neighbors, especially after listening to what was a likely domestic issue. Many commenters also worried that sending a sharply worded letter would just make the situation worse. Instead, they suggested focusing on maintaining a rapport with neighbors and managing noise, too.

While opinions varied, most commenters agreed the neighbor's son had handled the situation reasonably — and that sending a confrontational letter would likely escalate rather than resolve the tension.