BROOKLYN, Conn. -- A teenager accused of firing an assault rifle at several people playing basketball appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge ruled he will face charges as an adult.

Police said his intended victims wrestled him to the ground and pulled the AK-47 from him. No one was injured.

Alexander Romanchuk, 16, was ordered held on $300,000 bond and is scheduled to return to court May 30. A message seeking comment was left at his family's home.

Police said Romanchuk had bragged about having an AK-47 and threatened to return and shoot several people on the court behind Our Lady of La Salette Church Tuesday night.

The teen allegedly left the group and showed up 10 minutes later, dressed in black and firing as he walked out of the woods in the rural eastern Connecticut town, officials said.

The players grabbed him and wrestled the weapon away, police said. Troopers arrived to find a man holding the teen down. Romanchuk suffered head injuries in the scuffle and was treated and released at Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam.

His father, who is a minister, said that the AK-47 was actually his and he had it stored in a locked room. He said his son is autistic and was so upset by what was said on the basketball court, he broke into the locked room through a window and grabbed the gun, according to court testimony.

State police also did not release any information about the people who subdued him.

The Rev. Raymond Vaillancourt said people with no connection to Our Lady of La Salette often play basketball behind the church. He said he was in his room at the back of the church when he heard what he thought was a car backfiring. He heard no commotion and didn't think anything of it until officers rang his doorbell around 10:30 p.m.

"Some of the kids sometimes come and shoot baskets at our little court there, but since I've been here there haven't been really any incidents of fighting or arguments or anything," he said.

The teen was charged with seven counts, including criminal attempt to commit murder, reckless endangerment and possession of marijuana.