Man in Custody After Pellet Rifle Incident : Arrest: An officer fired a shot in the suspect’s direction as he was taken into custody after allegedly pointing weapon at I-5 drivers. No one was hurt.

An 18-year-old San Juan Capistrano man who allegedly pointed a pellet gun at motorists on Interstate 5 at the La Paz Road exit was taken into custody Thursday, authorities said.

No one was injured during the incident, which occurred on the dirt embankment south of the La Paz Road off-ramp, and it was not certain whether the man actually fired his weapon at any of the passing cars, California Highway Patrol Officer Gary Alfonso said.

Alfonso said a highway patrolman fired his weapon toward the suspect when he was taken into custody, but no one was hit.

Alfonso said CHP officers received a call about 11:50 a.m. from a motorist reporting that a man was walking along the embankment pointing a rifle at southbound traffic.

CHP officers and Orange County sheriff’s deputies surrounded the suspect, identified as Isauro Gonzalez Giles, after a short foot pursuit and ordered him at gunpoint to drop his weapon.

Giles, 18, complied with the officers’ order but then, for unknown reasons, made a move to pick up his weapon again, officers at the scene said. Before Giles could grab the rifle, a CHP officer identified as Toni Kodera fired one round in the suspect’s direction, officers said.

Giles later told investigators that he was walking along the embankment “shooting at birds,” Sheriff’s Department Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

Olson said Giles, who had not been booked late Thursday, could face a charge of suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Giles’ weapon was later determined to be a pellet rifle, Olson said, adding that no motorists have reported being hit by pellets.