Calif. Man Linked To Weapons YouTube Clip Opens Up: 'I Did Not Wish To Cause Harm To Anybody'

SAN DIEGO (CBSLA) — An arrest has been made after a resident anonymously called police after spotting a YouTube clip showing a man at the Sofia Hotel in downtown San Diego armed with multiple assault weapons aiming at people walking below.

Steve Homoki was arrested Thursday on multiple weapons charges, and remained behind bars. His arraignment has been set for Monday.

But in an interview with CBS affiliate KFMB-TV's Brandon Lewis, he said, "It was just out of curiosity. It was just kind of like a little miniature art project for myself. Just to kind of get into a mindset and just booked a night for a hotel, just wanted to relax, be able to do something a bit fun and different. But again, these were just supposed to be private videos."

Lt. Shawn Takeuchi of the San Diego Police Department said this arrest and the continued investigation would not have started without the tip from the community member.

The video drew a striking resemblance to the Las Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded. But Homoki says he didn't think of it at the time.

Homoki said, "During the process, they said, 'Have you heard of the Las Vegas shooting?' I said, 'Yes, I've heard about it. What about it?' I thought, 'Oh, I'm starting to see the correlation between what they think.' "

He says this was the first time he has done anything like this, adding, "I'm hoping they could see it the way I do, I do not wish to cause harm to anybody. It was not an act of terrorism at all."

Homoki was being held on $20,000.00 bail. A search warrant shows he has 14 registered firearms that were purchased between February of 2018, and May of 2019.