NORTH ATTLEBORO -- In a dispute over Christmas presents gone wildly awry, two brothers subdued a pistol-wielding acquaintance in the stairwell of their apartment house and wrestled the gun away, but not before it fired, sending a bullet through a wall and into the living room of a another apartment.

No one was wounded, but the alleged assailant was arraigned Tuesday in Attleboro District Court on 11 charges, including assault with intent to murder and carrying an unlicensed firearm.

The incident occurred about 9:40 p.m. Monday at the home of brothers Michael and Vaughn Loring at 65-67 West St., police said.

The melee was sparked by the alleged theft of Christmas presents from Vaughn Loring's 4-year-old son, police said.

The pistol-wielding man, Robert J. Perry, 33, of 34 Peck St., Apt. 3, who lives with Vaughn Loring's ex-girlfriend, was ordered jailed without bail Tuesday following a dangerousness hearing. Police allege Perry pointed a 9 mm pistol at the Loring brothers as all three were walking down stairs in the apartment building to settle the dispute outdoors.

Vaughn Loring, 29, described in an interview outside the courtroom a short but harrowing struggle that might have been lifted from a TV crime drama.

Loring said he kicked Perry in the left shoulder when he briefly glanced away, and that his brother, Michael, 31, slammed Perry into a wall of the stairwell and grabbed him in a choke hold.

`` I didn't know what I thought when he pulled out the gun,'' Vaughn Loring said. `` All I knew is that he had a gun. I watch a lot of TV, so I knew to keep my cool.

`` When he first looked away, that's when I had my opportunity.''

Michael Loring said he kept Perry pressed against the wall so he couldn't point the gun, and Vaughn Loring said he punched Perry in the face when he refused to drop the gun.

Vaughn Loring said the gun glanced against his stomach during the struggle, but he shoved a hand between his body and the gun, then managed to push it away before it fired.

Investigators recovered a 9 mm slug from a door in the building's first-floor apartment, Detective Lt. David Dawes said.

The pistol was found in an apartment where Vaughn Loring said he placed it before police arrived.

The pistol jammed after the first shot, Dawes said, adding it is not clear whether Perry attempted to fire the gun a second time. Dawes said it was fortunate no one was seriously injured.

Vaughn Loring agreed.

`` We're all pretty lucky,'' he said. `` I'm glad we had some quick thinking.''

Michael Loring said he still had Perry in a choke hold when the gun fired.

`` When the gun discharged, I put him out,'' he said.

Perry collapsed on the floor but was conscious when Patrolman Jason Roy arrived on the scene.

Perry later suffered a seizure at the police station and was taken to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro before being transferred under police guard to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

He was discharged from the hospital Tuesday and appeared in Attleboro District Court in a neck brace, where he was ordered held without bail after the Loring brothers testified they feared for their safety and acted in self-defense.

Perry's lawyer, Jennifer Lokitis, argued that the gun fired accidentally during the struggle. She admitted Perry shouldn't have taken a gun to the house, but said he felt threatened by the Loring brothers.

Vaughn Loring testified he thought Perry's teenage daughter had stolen his son's Christmas presents, and he wanted Perry to replace the presents or pay him back.

When Perry failed to do so, Vaughn Loring said he went to Perry's apartment and took his television, VCR, his clothes and Perry's daughter's clothes as collateral.

Loring testified that Perry was present when he took the items.

Vaughn Loring said he later felt badly about the incident, and called Perry and told him to come to his apartment and pick up the items.

He testified Perry and his brother, Michael, began to quarrel when Perry arrived at the apartment.

Perry is due back in Attleboro District Court Jan. 10.