WILLIAMSVILLE, Vt. — Vermont State Police responding to a report of a suicidal person have arrested a 71-year-old man accused of attempting to draw fire from them after shooting bullets from his handgun.

Welton Townsend of Williamsville has been charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Police responded to Townsend’s home at about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday. They said a man later identified as Townsend left the home and threatened troopers with a “shootout.”

Police surrounded the home and tried to convince him to speak to them. The man began to fire rounds from a handgun into the air. Police did not fire back and the man stopped firing shots.