Cite as: 523 U. S. 65 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
his garage. In the early morning of November 5, approximately 45 officers gathered to execute the warrant. The officers set up a portable loudspeaker system and began announcing that they had a search warrant. Simultaneously, they broke a single window in the garage and pointed a gun through the opening, hoping thereby to dissuade any of the occupants from rushing to the weapons the officers believed might be in the garage.
Respondent and his family were asleep inside the house at the time this activity began. Awakened by the noise, respondent believed that they were being burglarized. He ran to his utility closet, grabbed a pistol, and fired it into the ceiling of his garage. The officers fired back and shouted "police." At that point respondent realized that it was law enforcement officers who were trying to enter his home. He ran to the living room, threw his pistol away, and threw himself onto the floor. Shortly thereafter, he, his wife, and their child left the house and were taken into police custody. Respondent waived his Miranda rights, and then admitted that he had fired the weapon, that he owned both that gun and another gun that was inside the house, and that he was a convicted felon. Officers soon obtained another search warrant, which they used to return to the house and retrieve the two guns. Shelby was not found.
Respondent was subsequently indicted for being a felon in possession of firearms. 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(1). The District Court granted his motion to suppress evidence regarding his possession of the weapons, ruling that the police officers had violated both the Fourth Amendment and 18 U. S. C. § 3109 because there were "insufficient exigent circumstances" to justify the police officers' destruction of property in their execution of the warrant. App. to Pet. for Cert. 34a.
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed. 91 F. 3d 1297 (1996). Applying Circuit precedent, that court concluded that while a "mild exigency" is sufficient to justify a no-knock entry that can be accomplished without the de-
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