The man arrested for shooting at Peoria Police on Sunday in the East Bluff — may not have been shooting at them after all.Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos says Jordan Cremer claims he did not know police were there when he fired a warning shot. Instead, he says he was trying to scare off what he thought was an intruder.

Ali Gude lives in the same East Bluff neighborhood. Given the crime they have seen there lately, he say’s Cremer’s actions were understandable.

“That’s what we have to do, it’s a lot going on around this times, with that situation you just got to think fast you know,” said Gude.

And he says police need to take into account why residents may feel the need to use a firearm when they feel threatened.

“But at the same time, the Police got to understand what kind of situation we are in to take action on things that happened,” he added.

Attorney Shaun Cusack says Illinois law allows residents to protect their property. So Cremer may have a pretty strong defense.

“What’s reasonable? So is firing a gun into the air reasonable to stop someone from breaking into your house. I think the argument can be made that it absolutely is,” said Cusack.

However, Cusack notes that these cases are never clear cut. A lot of factors are considered when deciding whether someone was reckless in shooting a gun.

“They gotta look at all the facts, they gotta look at which direction the gun was fired, how many shots were fired, what happened before, what happened afterwards, the type of break in this was,” he said.

Cusack’s advice is that you can use a firearm when someone breaks in and threatens you. Just keep in mind what comes along with that.

“It’s not a one size fits all, it’s not a guarantee, but you got to protect yourself, you got to protect your property and you have a right to do so,” said Cusack.

State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos says the matter is still under investigation and is being handled by Illinois State Police.