He was working from home when three masked and armed men crashed through the door into his home in Katy, Texas. They tied him up and he pretended to pass out… and that’s when he made his move to the gun safe in his room and armed himself.

When they came back through the door, he was ready.

“I had the gun and pointed it at the door and the door opened. I unloaded on them,” he said.

Officials say the victim hit two of them before they fled.

“The first unit did arrive and was able to engage one of the suspects and take him into custody, while another did flee and was later found a block and a half away,” said Sgt. Rico Castillo with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

The homeowner says he kept thinking about his five-year-old daughter.

“A part of me wishes I killed them and a part of me wishes I could forgive them and they turn their lives around,” said as he reflected on the frightening experience.

The two suspects that he shot are recovering in a nearby hospital, while their accomplice, his cover blown, is on the run from police.

The homeowner’s mixed emotions are normal in the aftermath of a shooting. No well-adjusted normal person wants to hurt other normal people. At the same time, they recognize that individuals such as these home invaders are predators who will likely strike again if given the chance, so it is also normal to wish that they’d killed them, to keep other innocent from becoming victims in the future.

Who knows? Maybe being shot will be the wake-up call that these criminals need to turn their lives around.

If not, let’s hope that their next attempted victim is able to manage better shot placement.