Police in Philadelphia are still trying to sort through all of the evidence in what appears to be an attempted home invasion on Sunday night; one that resulted in one of the home invaders shot and killed by his intended victim.

The incident unfolded around 10 p.m. Sunday evening when a 25-year old Philadelphia resident returned to his home. As he was walking towards his front door, authorities say he was approached by two individuals, and things quickly turned sideways.

Police say at least one male was armed with a gun and had a police badge around his neck, which turned out to be fake. He identified himself as a police officer.

The two males then forced the resident into his property and demanded money.

“They tied his hands with zip ties around his back and threatened to kill him if he made any sudden moves. That’s when our victim realized these individuals were not police officers,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

According to police, the 25-year-old victim was able to free his hands and grab a gun from his pocket.

After gaining access to his gun the intended victim was able to fire multiple rounds, sending one of the suspects scrambling out the front door. His armed cohort, on the other hand, was shot three times. The suspect, who has yet to be named, was taken to a Philadelphia hospital where he was pronounced dead.

FOX 29’s Steve Kelley spoke to the man who fatally shot one of the intruders, and he’s encouraging everyone who legally can own a gun to purchase one to protect themselves in Philadelphia as crime surges.

“I pulled out and shot right at him and that’s it,” he said as he described the moments of shock and fear he experienced.

The 25-year-old and his girlfriend, who was upstairs in the second-floor apartment at the time of the shooting, were released by police.

By all accounts this appears to be a clear-cut act of self-defense on the part of the 25-year old who was the intended victim of the pair, and I’m glad to see him speaking up about the importance of being able to protect yourself. Who knows what the outcome would have been if the suspects hadn’t encountered an armed citizen instead of the unarmed victim they thought they’d targeted, but given that the pair had threatened to kill the man before he was able to access his gun, my guess is that they weren’t going to drop off some milk and cookies before leaving the home.

The fact that the pair posed as police is particularly disturbing, if not exactly a new phenomenon. By impersonating law enforcement officers, criminals are hoping to get even a few additional seconds of opportunity while their victims are trying to figure out what’s going on and who exactly is approaching them, and that was all that was needed in this instance to gain entry to the man’s home.

Thankfully it appears that these home invaders weren’t smart enough to actually pat down their victim once they were inside the residence, which gave the 25-year old the opportunity to get his hands on his gun and protect himself and his girlfriend. Hopefully they will never again have to use a firearm in self-defense, but I’m thankful that he had one when he needed it.