Pleasanton man charged after gun fires into neighboring apartment while he cleaned it

PLEASANTON — A Pleasanton resident accidentally fired a shot into a neighboring apartment while cleaning his firearm, sending a bullet through the wall of a home occupied by a couple and their two children, according to court records.

When police responded to a shots-fired call on Arroyo Court on Feb. 28, they quickly noticed the suspected shooter smelled strongly of alcohol. The 37-year-old man admitted he had consumed about 350 milliliters of Smirnoff vodka that afternoon, authorities said.

He now faces a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of a firearm. No one was injured, though the neighbor later pulled the projectile from the wall, police said.

The shooting occurred about 7 p.m., when the neighbor reported hearing a loud bang and then finding a bullet-sized hole in the shared wall between the apartments. The projectile traveled through a pantry before lodging in another wall, missing the family inside.

Police said the man told officers the gun discharged while he was cleaning it. He had inserted a loaded magazine into the pistol and the weapon fired, the round ricocheting off a kitchen counter and through the wall into the neighboring apartment.

After the gun went off, the man went next door to check on the family, police said.