I’ve heard for many years that you should never pick a fight with an old man because he’ll just kill you instead of fighting you. Two young punks in south Philadelphia apparently didn’t get that message, and had to learn that lesson the hard way.

hree people are in the hospital after police say a man opened fire on two younger men during a fight in the Queen Village section of Philadelphia.

The 65-year-old man was walking with his wife on the 700 block of S. 2nd Street shortly after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when they were approached by a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, police said. Investigators say the two younger men and the 65-year-old man got into an argument which then became physical.

The younger men, one of whom is from Cinnaminson, New Jersey, allegedly began to beat the 65-year-old man. The 65-year-old man, who has a license to carry, then pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and opened fire, according to investigators. The 21-year-old was struck once in the neck while the 20-year-old was struck in the stomach. The younger men were taken to the hospital where one is in stable condition while the other is in serious condition.

Police told NBC10 the District Attorney’s Office will determine what sparked the fight and whether or not the shooting was in self-defense.

The District Attorney’s decision in this investigation should be a relatively simple one. If two much younger men physically attack a much older man, there is enough disparity of force to justify an armed response, even if the two younger men did not have any other weapons than their hands and feet.

The biggest question from the district attorney’s point-of-view is going to be who escalated the verbal disagreement to a verbal confrontation. If the two younger men are the ones who started the verbal altercation and then escalated it to the point of physical force—which seems to be the case—then the 65-year-old has a slam-dunk case of self defense.

This appears to be yet another instance where a concealed carrier was minding his own business and was forced to use his concealed handgun to save not one, but two lives.