Police in Dallas, Texas say one of two men who posed as apartment maintenance workers before trying to kick in the door of a tenant’s home is now in custody, while the tenant himself is speaking out about his decision to use his firearm to defend himself.

The situation unfolded last Saturday afternoon at the Interlace Apartments when one of the two suspects strolled up to the front door and began knocking, telling the resident inside that he was there to check the apartment’s air filters. The resident, speaking through a doorbell camera, informed the stranger that no one was home and asked him to leave. Moments later the stranger returned to the door with a gun in his hand and a friend by his side and began kicking the door, trying to break the lock.

The two men were sent scurrying away after the resident, who actually was home at the time, fired multiple rounds through the door at the would-be intruders.

In an interview with WFAA-TV, resident Ethan Hernandez said he had no choice but to defend himself with his gun after seeing at least one of the men was armed.

“I was hoping I got ’em,” he told WFAA. “That was mainly it, just hoping I got ’em.”

“[Police] told me I let off 13 shots,” he continued. “I couldn’t believe it, but then again I did empty the clip!”

Rodriguez said he was home with his brother at the time. Dallas PD confirms one of the suspects returned fire at Rodriguez, but neither he nor his brother were hit.

In the video, you can see bullets fly into Rodriguez’s neighbor’s apartment. He told WFAA they were not home at the time of the shooting.

Neither were Rodriguez’s wife or their 7-month-old baby boy.

“Everything happened I guess you could say in God’s favor. I protected my family, and he was just being a dummy trying to come to my house and get whatever.”

Rodriguez told WFAA his family will now break their lease and look for new housing elsewhere.

A totally understandable reaction, though I hope Hernandez understands that crime can happen anywhere, even in his new home.

While Hernandez isn’t facing any charges, the man police arrested is now looking at several serious offenses. Authorities on Tuesday said 30-year-old Aaron Contreras is now being charged with aggravated assault, deadly conduct, and attempted burglary of a habitation, though police haven’t announced the arrest of Contreras’s alleged accomplice, who wore a mask over his face while trying to break down Hernandez’s door.

Hernandez’s defensive gun use was not only justified, but a perfect example of why laws limiting ammunition magazines to ten rounds put victims of crime at risk. While gun control activists may want to believe that any armed robbery or home invasion is going to be a one-on-one affair, the truth is that we may very well be confronted with multiple attackers intent on doing us harm. In this case, Hernandez fired 13 rounds, and it’s hard to argue with a straight face that he should have been forced to stop and reload while his armed assailants were still trying to get inside.

Of course, if the anti-gunners really had their wish Hernandez wouldn’t have been armed at all. Instead, he would have been another defenseless victim of violent predators. Thankfully, Hernandez will get to tuck his child inside his crib tonight instead of his family mourning the loss of their loved one; a much better outcome as far as I’m concerned.