A Florida man was arrested after he shot a Walmart drone with a 9mm handgun as it flew over his house — causing thousands of dollars in damage — because he thought it was “watching him.”
The suspect — Dennis Winn, 72, of Clermont, Florida — allegedly admitted to police June 26 that he took a potshot at the drone, which a two-man crew was operating over his Lake County home, the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
A Walmart representative said the flights were part of a local campaign that featured mock deliveries to attract business and interest in the area, which is about 25 miles west of Orlando, according to FOX 35 Orlando.
But as the crew piloted the craft back towards the ground, one of the reps heard a gunshot.
When they inspected the drone back at the store, they noticed a bullet hole that caused $2,500 worth of damage to the payload system, Fox said.
Sheriff’s deputies went to the house, and Winn told police he was the gunman, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
He’d watched the drone careen over his property, he allegedly told them. And he thought its operators were watching him because he tried to shoo it off — but it didn’t go away, the USA Today said.
“I fired one round at it,” he said in bodycam footage obtained by the outlet. “They say I hit it, so I must be a good shot, or else it’s not that far away … I’m going to wind up having to find a real good defense lawyer.”
Cops arrested him and charged him with shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief damage over $1,000 and firing a gun in public.