This is an absolutely amazing armed citizen story out of Pasco County, Florida. A man mowing his lawn hears screams from next door and ends up not only saving the lives of a woman and several children, but is forced to kill a domestic abuser who fired a shot at him.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call in the Trinity area a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday night. According to Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, the incident stemmed from a domestic violence attack.

Nocco said the domestic violence victim was inside the home, screaming for help. A neighbor who was mowing his lawn, heard the victim’s cries and ran over to help.

As the victim was crying for help, she started moving a group of young children, who Nocco described as “elementary school children,” to the home’s second-story window. The neighbor helped lower the children to safety, Nocco said.

Imagine how loud those screams must have been to have been heard over the roar of a lawnmower. It’s amazing he heard anything to begin with, but the good hearing and quick thinking of this neighbor allowed the children inside the home to escape from the second story, even at risk to his own life.

As the neighbor tried to deescalate the situation, the domestic violence suspect took out a gun and pointed at the neighbor.

The suspect opened fire but the neighbor was able to defend himself. The neighbor then shot the suspect, killing him on scene, Nocco said.

Nocco described the neighbor as “a hero.”

“Protecting somebody’s life is a priority,” Nocco said in a press conference Wednesday night.

Sheriff Nocco is absolutely right to call this man a hero. I think it’s also safe to say that it was a good guy with a gun who stopped this bad guy with a gun. If this woman who was being attacked had to wait until police arrived to find help, who knows how tragic the outcome could have been.

I’m sure gun control activists are wondering why anybody would need to carry a gun while they’re mowing their yard, and most of the time it probably would be unnecessary. When seconds counted, however, this armed citizen was prepared and ready to act, and in doing undoubtably saved several lives, including his own. We never know when violence will erupt around you, or when it might be necessary to use a firearm in self-defense or to defend others. What we do know is that there are no second chances when seconds count, and I’m glad this armed citizen was ready and able to respond to the attack by the suspect.

I hope we get the chance to learn more about this hero who rose to the occasion, but even more, I hope the woman and children who were victims of this domestic abuse get the chance to rebuild their lives and start a new chapter free from the pain and torment they likely suffered at the hands of their abuser.