PIKE COUNTY, Ky. (WMDJ) – A Pike County man is behind bars after state police say he fired shots toward the Shelby Valley High School football field while students were outside practicing.

According to KSP, a 911 call reporting gunfire near the Douglas Park Apartments alerted troopers to the area just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses told authorities the shots were fired in the direction of the field with cheerleaders and football players present.

58-year-old Brian Irick, of Pikeville, admitted to firing the gun saying he was aiming, “into the grass” and knew students were at practice.

Troopers recovered the gun, tested Irick for gunshot residue and took him to the Pike County Detention Center on a charge of first-degree wanton endangerment.