Police in Colorado have cited a 37-year-old man for carrying his computer into an alley and shooting at it eight times with a handgun after what authorities said had been a long battle with the unco-operative machine.

Lucas Hinch was cited for discharging a firearm within city limits after officers responded to a “shots fired” call early on Monday evening, the Colorado Springs Police Department said in a statement.

“Investigation revealed a resident was fed up with fighting his computer for the last several months,” said the statement, entitled “Man kills his computer.”

“He took the computer into the back alley and fired eight shots into the computer with a handgun, effectively disabling it,” it added.

The Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper cited police as saying Hinch was good-natured about the citation, and that he told officers he had not realised he was breaking the law.

A judge will decide what penalty the citation carries.

Reuters