A West Virginia escort got a gun away from from a man she says tried to strangle her and turned it against him in what police are saying is a case of justifiable homicide.

Authorities are now investigating whether the man who attacked a West Virginia woman could be connected to other unsolved cases of murdered and missing women.

Police say that an unidentified woman fatally shot 45-year-old Neal Falls with his own gun after he beat and choked the woman in her home. The two had met on Backpage.com.

Charleston Police Lt. Steve Cooper said that Falls stepped into the victim’s Charleston apartment and immediately pointed his 9mm gun at her chest, telling her that she was going to die. The two struggled, and Falls put his gun down. That’s when the victim picked it up and shot him.

Cooper said that authorities found handcuffs, bleach, bulletproof vests, cutting instruments and firearms in the suspect’s vehicle. Their findings make it “likely” that Falls had been involved in similar crimes, Cooper said.

The pistol the escort turned against Falls appears to be a Ruger LCP in photographs taken of the evidence (the report claiming that the pistol was a 9mm appears to be incorrect).

Authorities suspect that Falls may have been behind the murders of up to six missing prostitutes. In this instance, the escort was able to keep her wits about her and didn’t panic while he attacked her, and had the awareness to spot and then use the pistol against Falls.

Not only did she save her own life in killing Falls, but also likely prevented the deaths of other escorts Falls would likely have targeted in the future.