Man shoots himself in his sleep thinking he was being robbed

People do all sorts of odd things when they sleep. We talk, we walk, and apparently we even sometimes fire guns. What a terrifying species we are.

Obviously that last action is much less common than the first two, and you'd actually have to have a gun in order to do it, but it does happen. Just ask Mark Dicara, from Illinois.

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According to the the Lake County government, the 62-year-old had been snoozing away when he grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver and fired a shot at around 9:50pm on 10 April.

Police responded to the scene after receiving a report that someone at the home had suffered a gunshot wound, and when they arrived they found Dicara with a shot to his leg, and a 'significant amount of blood'.

He was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and an investigation found that the bullet had travelled all the way through Dicara's leg before getting lodged in his bedding.

So, why did Dicara fire the gun into his own leg? Well, apparently he thought he was being robbed. At least, that was what his subconscious told him.

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Lake County Sheriff's deputies explained that Dicara had dreamed that someone was breaking into his home, and grabbed his gun at shoot at the 'intruder'.

Naturally he woke up when he fired the shot - I know some heavy sleepers, but none that would be able to ignore a bullet in their leg - and a search found that there was no evidence of an attempted burglary, and no intruder at the home.

Unfortunately for Dicara, his dreams left him with more than just injuries.

The 62-year-old is now facing firearms charges as the investigation revealed he had owned and used the revolver without having a Firearm Owners Identification card, which is mandatory in Illinois for gun owners.

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Dicara had previously had an identification card, but authorities said it had been revoked. They didn't say why.

Police arrested Dicara on Monday (12 June), but he was released after posting $150,000 (£118,600) bond.

Dicara faces charges of possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card and reckless discharge of a firearm, and is scheduled to appear in court in 29 June.

I'm not sure how many people this will apply to, but I guess Dicara's story could be used as a warning: if you're an avid dreamer, make sure you keep your guns out of reach.