Repeat after me, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is…”

District Attorney Ed Marsico said 23-year-old Craig Everette II had a right to defend others when he shot and killed 60-year-old Todd Eugene Taylor.

Taylor, 60, of Halifax, went to his estranged wife’s home in the 200 block of Kempton Avenue to confront her boyfriend.

Police said he fired several rounds in front of the house and yelled for the boyfriend, Lawrence Gaul, to come outside.

Taylor was armed with a shotgun and two handguns when he then broke into the home and fired into a bathroom door, wounding Gaul as he tried to take shelter with his girlfriend.

Taylor then went outside to reload the shotgun, went back in the home and began firing through the door.

Everette, the woman’s nephew, fled out a back door when shooting started, but returned and shot Taylor to death.

He then disarmed Taylor and waited for police at a neighbor’s house.

Authorities said he is a combat veteran and a Purple Heart recipient who has no criminal record.

“Mr. Everette’s actions, frankly, saved the lives of the individuals that were holed up in that bathroom,” Marsico said.

Fortunately for all concerned, Mr. Everette escaped the scene as Taylor was fixated on the couple trapped in the bathroom, and was able to arm himself with a shotgun of his own. Everette then put Taylor down.

* * *

If Everette did not have access to firearms it is quite likely that Taylor would have soon defeated the flimsy interior door of the bathroom and killed both his estranged wife and Mr. Gaul. In all likelihood, he would have then committed suicide, which tends to be the pattern in this sort of circumstance.

While law enforcement officers immediately do everything in their power to get to the scene of a “shots fired” call, the simple fact of the matter is that it is very unlikely that they will be nearby when you need them, a fact that all police officers and sheriff’s deputies readily admit. They will not be able react in time to save you and your family.

You are your family’s first responder.

You are responsible for their defense, and for treating any wounds that they make incur from an attacker.

Do you have the equipment and the training to be a competent lifesaver with both firearms and a trauma kit?

If not, you need to think seriously about re-prioritizing your life.