EASTON, Pa. – A 26-year-old man has been charged with criminal homicide in connection with the fatal shooting of his mother’s boyfriend Saturday at a home in West Easton.

Ryan James Yaindl, 26, of West Easton Borough, was charged by Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta’s office, according to a news release.

Pennsylvania State Police said that shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, officers responded to a home on the 100 block of Spring Street after a report that a man had been shot and may be dead.

Wilson Borough police were the first to arrive and secured the residence and surrounding area. When they got to the scene, they encountered a woman and her adult son, Yaindl, outside the home. Police said Yaindl told them he was the one who “shot.”

Officers entered the residence to search for the victim and provide emergency medical aid. They said they found a firearm on the floor in the dining room area, and in the hallway at the top of the stairs to the second floor, they discovered the victim — 52-year-old Jason George Derr — unconscious and showing obvious signs of gunshot wound trauma.

Emergency medical services pronounced Derr dead at the scene, Baratta said. Yaindl was taken into custody and transported to Pennsylvania State Police — Belfast.

An investigation by state police found there had been a physical altercation between Derr and his girlfriend, and that Yaindl — the girlfriend’s son — sought to intervene, investigators say. According to police, Derr then encountered Yaindl on the second floor of the home, where Yaindl fired several shots, killing him. Police were told that at this point Yaindl made a statement to the effect “I think I killed him, call 911”.

The community of West Easton is reacting.

“Seeing them put up the tape. It was shocking to know that somebody passed,” said Patricia Ibarra, a nearby neighbor.

Ibarra has called the borough of West Easton home for 22 years.

“Quiet, never heard a peep from any anybody in that back area,” said Ibarra.

“I only ever saw a gentleman, like I told the detectives, mowing his grass,” said Ibarra, recalling previous encounters with her neighbors.

“I only ever saw a gentleman, like I told the detectives, mowing his grass,” said Ibarra, recalling previous encounters with her neighbors. “When the detectives came to me, I was honest. I never heard. They asked if I heard fighting or anything? No,” said Ibarra.

It’s among a long line of domestic violence cases involving guns and death in the county, according to Baratta.

“It’s a considerable problem, I think, at least for Northampton County, because most of our homicides over the last several years have been domestic violence related,” said Baratta. “When there are emotional disputes within households. There are times when those disputes are resolved by the use of a firearm. Under calmer circumstances, this wouldn’t happen.”

Yaindl is charged with Criminal Homicide and was preliminarily arraigned before a magistrate judge, and bail was denied. A preliminary hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The investigation is being handled by the Pennsylvania State Police — Troop M Major Case Team with assistance from the district attorney’s office. Wilson Borough police and Easton police assisted on scene.