Gunman kills mourner at friend's grave after victim threatened to vomit in cemetery: reports

A Colorado man reportedly shot his friend in a cemetery after the victim said he was going to vomit near his deceased friend's grave.

Ryan Trujillo-Falcon, 22, shot and killed 20-year-old Geano Eugene Chavez and pistol-whipped a woman as they gathered at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge to celebrate the birthday of their mutual friend – who also died from gun violence, authorities told Fox 31.

“These people all knew each other. They went there together to visit the grave of a person they all knew who had just had a birthday,” Jefferson County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley told the outlet.

Chavez got into an argument with the unnamed woman shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 17 – after the cemetery had been closed for the night, authorities said.

The brawl reportedly broke out after Chavez told the group that he was starting to feel ill, according to an affidavit obtained by Law and Crime.

Trujillo-Falcon told Chavez to go outside if he needed to vomit, but Chavez refused and “wanted to vomit on the grave next to him,” the affidavit states.

As the fight escalated, Trujillo-Falcon hit the woman in the head with the butt of his gun and then shot Chavez. According to police, Chavez later died of his injuries in the hospital.

The woman was injured but treated and released from the hospital, officials said.

“This is the first time in my career that we've been sent to a cemetery that's associated with the shooting of a person who then died,” Kelley said. “The cemetery is a place that gives people comfort. Often it's a place where you go to visit someone you've lost, but it's not usually a place of violence, so it's very unusual.”

Chavez's brother mentioned in a GoFundMe fundraiser that “a person he called a friend took his life.”

“Geano was the definition of a true friend,” his brother wrote.

“He would give you the shirt off his back no questions asked,” the post said. “Geano was an extraordinarily talented artist with a passion for music. You can bet you'll catch Geano on the basketball court and watching football. Plus, he was a recent graduate and definitely had a lot planned.

Trujillo-Falcon reportedly told police that he did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but had carried a firearm since his deceased friend, whose grave they were visiting, was killed in a shooting two years ago.

Trujillo-Falcon has been charged with first-degree murder and second-degree assault. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $1 million bail.