POTTSVILLE---Forty-year-old Anthony Iacovitti of Pottsville was taken into custody outside his home Sunday.
State police and officers from several departments responded to a building on North 3rd Street in Pottsville after several people called about a man on a rooftop with a gun.
"I only heard about it and when I got to work, I work at Giant, there were a bunch of stories going around that someone got sniped and I watched the news at 11 and I found out it was a pellet gun and I just thought it was goofy, goofy people," said Doug Whiteash of Pottsville.
According to police, Lacovitti had a pellet gun, a battery-operated one identified as an MP5 replica.
He told investigators he and his son were firing rubber pellets, practicing for an airsoft game.
Police said the gun looked and sounded like a real firearm and so officers swarmed the area.
"I saw it on the news and I was shocked. I couldn't believe someone would have a gun, they said it was a pellet gun, you could still get hurt by a pellet gun," said Pottsville resident Michelle Aderhold.
"I mean he's playing with his kid, he's on a rooftop, they're not hurting anybody, they're enjoying. They don't have the countryside," said resident Charlie Wilson.
According to published reports, Lacovitti apologized for scaring people, saying it was never his intention.