A Houston man received a very painful lesson in the right of self-defense early Wednesday morning when he was shot after kicking in the front door of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment.

Houston police were called to the home on the city’s southeast side just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday on reports of a shooting, and when officers arrived, they found 48-year old Orrian Anders lying on the ground with several gunshot wounds.

Anders showed up to his ex’s apartment in the 2700 block of Oakcliff around 12:30 a.m. and allegedly barged into the home, according to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson. His ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend was also inside the apartment when the man broke in, Crowson said.

At some point, Anders started attacking the new boyfriend, who pulled a gun and shot the intruder “in fear for his safety,” Crowson said.

We don’t know exactly how much time elapsed between Anders kicking in the door of his ex-girlfriend’s place and the shots that were fired, but as soon as Anders gained illegal entry into the home, he was putting his life in jeopardy as well as breaking the law.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Anders is expected to recover from his injuries, and he’s currently being charged with burglary, though additional charges could be filed.

Less than two weeks ago, another angry ex decided to break into a home in the Houston-area to confront his former lover and her new boyfriend. That incident also didn’t turn out well for the attacker.

A man was shot and killed Sunday morning while confronting his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend during a birthday party at her Missouri City home, according to Houston police.

The party was for the woman’s 20-year-old daughter. Around 1:30 a.m., the woman’s ex-boyfriend got inside the home in the 6500 block of Ridgecreek Drive and found the couple in a bedroom, authorities said.

The ex pulled a gun from his waistband, prompting the current boyfriend to fire at the intruder, striking and killing him. Police questioned the couple, but no charges have been filed in that case.

We don’t know if the women in either of these cases had taken out protective orders against their ex-boyfriends, but ultimately those orders are a piece of paper, not a suit of armor, if and when abusers decide to violate the order to stay away. Thankfully in both of these cases, the intruder was met with an armed response that ended the threat. It would have been better for everyone had these ex-boyfriends simply stayed away altogether, but thankfully, these stories didn’t end as tragically as they could have.