Los Altos residents in the southern part of town woke up early Thursday morning to the sound of gunshots.
Police received several 911 calls from the Ranchita Drive area, near Grant Road and Fremont Avenue, and responded at 3:37 a.m.
"The first officers heard three or four shots themselves," said Sgt. John Hughmanick with the Los Altos Police Department.
"They were able to identify the house (on Ranchita Court) and set up a perimeter," he said.
Police tried to contact the occupants and couldn't reach anyone, Hughmanick said.
So the police evacuated nearby residents.
Using night-vision equipment and binoculars, police spotted a body lying on the floor in the family room at the back of the house, Hughmanick said.
At that point, "We pulled in additional officers and a tactical response team and planned an entry into the house."
Eventually 15 officers were inside a neighbor's home that had been set up as the police command post.
Once the police were in their armor, "you could only see their eyes," the neighbor said.
"I heard them planning about keeping the dog safe (that they'd seen inside the house). They were aware that kids would soon be walking to Oak School. These guys were so worried about me, and I was worried about them," the neighbor said.
Officers said they didn't know what they'd find - a dead body or a murder-suicide?
"I had a lump in my throat for these guys as they went out my front door," the neighbor said. "They'd been sitting in my kitchen drinking coffee, and now they were going out there and could be shot. It was like a Bruce Willis movie, but nobody swore."
Just as the Los Altos team was heading single-file toward the house, "the subject came out of the rear of his house with a handgun," Hughmanick said.
At 8:45 a.m. "an intoxicated white male was taken into custody without incident."
The only other occupant at home during the incident was a dog. The man's wife was out of state at the time, police said.
Police arrested a 46-year-old man on charges of discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, which is a felony.
Neighbors said they thought the man may have been drinking, passed out and then came to.
He was released on bail at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, police said. He is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 19.
Because the district attorney has not yet filed charges, the Town Crier is not using his name.
But neighbors are worried.
"We have the gun he used," a .45-caliber automatic, said Los Altos Police Chief Lucy Carlton. "We have all his ammunition, his cleaning kit. We took everything," gun-related she said.
"And there were no other weapons in the house. He will have to petition the court to get the gun back after the trial," Carlton said, assuming the district attorney files charges.
You don't need a permit to have a weapon in your own home for self protection, Carlton said.
She said she would have her officers on patrol "keep a check" on the house. And she would have officers call on any neighbors who were especially concerned.