A 52-year-old Largo, Florida man was arrested early Monday morning for firing shots into his own home using an AR-15 assault weapon. According to Tampa’s Bay News 9, Douglas York told a judge that he was defending his house from intruders.

“I was defending my own house,” York said at his arraignment.

York apparently fired a dozen or so rounds into the structure in the middle of the night. Neighbor John Johansen said to Channel 9, “I woke up from a dead sleep at 2:25 in the morning and I heard 10 to 12 rounds go off. I was a little nervous when I heard the rounds. I knew they were gunshots.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Police told Channel 9 that York was firing rounds into his house because he thought he saw people inside. When officers arrived on the scene, York informed them he had just injected a prescription medication and had not slept for days.

A neighbor who declined to be interviewed said that one round from the assault weapon struck her daughter’s car.

In court Monday, York told the presiding judge that he is not currently taking any mental health medications. He said he has simply fallen on hard times.

”I’ve just had a very tough time in my life,” York said. “I’ve hit bottom with the foreclosure and things like that and the building of the creek behind my house.”

The judge lowered York’s bond from $10,000 to $7,500 because he had no prior record.

ADVERTISEMENT

[image of man aiming assault rifle via Shutterstock.com]