Last night, Marilyn Manson performed in San Bernadino, Calif. During his song “We Know Where You Fucking Live,” he used a fake gun as a stage prop, as TMZ reports. Video from TMZ shows that Manson pointed the gun at the audience while he sang into a microphone that was attached to it. The concert took place just hours after a mass shooting in Sutherland, Springs, Texas, where a gunman killed 26 people using a military-style rifle. San Bernardino was also the location of a terrorist attack in 2015 that left 14 people dead. Find video of the concert here.

Manson has now released a statement defending the moment, explaining that it was an “act of theater” and that his prop was used with a police officer’s approval. “My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity,” he writes. “My empathy goes out to anyone who has been affected by the irresponsible and reprehensible misuse of REAL guns.” Read the full statement below.