HALIFAX -- A 70-year-old man from Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia is facing a charge of careless use of a firearm after allegedly firing shots at his own home on Tuesday.

RCMP say at approximately 7:50 a.m. on Dec. 29, officers responded to a call of shots fire in the area of Skye Cres. in Hammonds Plains.

While police were responding, they heard another shot, and were able to determine its originating location.

Police arrested a man outside a residence with a firearm. Police say the man told him he was shooting to ‘scare raccoons off the roof’.

The 70-year-old man was arrested for careless use of a firearm and a number of firearms were seized from the residence. The man was released from custody on conditions to appear in Halifax Provincial Court at a later date.