MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) — Police in Pennsylvania say a man accused of shooting a bullet through a neighbor’s window told a judge he fired the gun because it was the only way he knew how to unload it.

Middletown Detective Patrick Nicastro tells the Bucks County Courier Times (http://bit.ly/1CwbE81) that 31-year-old George Byrd IV of Penndel at first denied being behind the shooting but then acknowledged during his arraignment that he fired the weapon to clear the chamber because he was unfamiliar with guns.

Authorities say Byrd fired the gun early Friday afternoon in the suburban Philadelphia community. No one was injured.

Byrd is being held in the Bucks County jail on $20,000 bond. No attorney is listed on court papers.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.