I'm currently living in an apartment complex and have been leasing my unit for ~3 months now. Last night, I was woken up ~4 am to very loud shouting, cussing, and noise from the neighbors living in the unit above me. They were yelling loud enough for me to understand bits and pieces of what was upsetting them so much. It seems like they're a couple going through a rough time in their relationship; the girl wants the guy to leave/break up but the guy is angry and doesn't understand why or what he did wrong. The girl was sobbing and shrieking very loudly at one point, and the guy was trying to talk above her crying, which was then followed by hard stomping, more cussing, and then an eerie silence. I'm not sure whether they took their argument outside, a third person stepped in, or if something else may have occurred.

I don't know anyone else living in this apartment complex and haven't even seen the faces of the neighbors above me going through all this. I just know that this is the second time they've been this loud and distressed (the first time was a couple of days ago at ~2 am). I also don't know whether calling the police would be a good idea as the area this complex is located in is not the best and the community here is pretty wary of law enforcement. I don't want to exacerbate the situation, and since I don't know these people I don't think going upstairs to talk to them would be a good idea either (they may get defensive, confrontational, aggressive, etc.). At the same time though, I don't want their arguing early in the morning to become a norm, or worse, for it to escalate to violence.

Would calling the police for a welfare check be a good idea if this happens again? Is hearing arguing like this normal in apartments (this is my first time living in one)? Should I just mind my own business and keep my head down?

I've been thinking about this, what the best thing to do is. Yes, I'd call the police or Adult Protective Services (APS) to ask them to do a welfare check. Am wondering if other tenants have the same idea. We don't want another Brian Laundrie-Gabby Petito situation.

Without a frame of reference or insights into these peoples lives, I think as a newcomer you leave them alone until you learn more. For all you know this could be normal for them, even if it's not for you. Maybe talking to the landlord or building manager, or neighbors would be a better option at this time.

Good thinking, tal, especially getting to know other tenants would be useful. If this is the couple's normal behavior in the middle of the night, I wonder how they interact during the day....

Ok, thank y'all for your advice! They haven't had any more fights for the past few days now, so hopefully they figured things out. I'll try and get to know my neighbors better though in the future!