A man who shot himself in the leg while dreaming about a burglar breaking into his home has been arrested and charged by police in the US.
Although no one else was hurt, and no evidence was found of an actual intruder in the man’s home, police said on Tuesday the Illinois resident is suspected of committing firearms offences.
The 62-year-old man, from the village of Lake Barrington northwest of Chicago, told police that he “had a dream that someone was breaking into his home”.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement the man “retrieved his .357 Magnum Revolver and shot at who he believed was the intruder. When he fired, he shot himself and apparently woke up from the dream”.
The bullet ended up in the bed, the sheriff’s office added.
The man was charged with possessing a firearm with a revoked Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card and the reckless discharge of a firearm.
In Illinois, FOID cards are required for the ownership of guns and ammunition.
It was not made clear from the official statement why the firearm identification card had previously been revoked.
The shooting happened at around 9.50pm local time on 10 April.
At the time, first responders needed to apply a tourniquet to his leg as the man was losing a lot of blood. He was then quickly taken to hospital.
The man has been released on bail and is due back in court on 29 June.
