A Louisiana man is facing serious charges after using a sledgehammer to break through the door of his ex-girlfriend’s home before shooting at the occupants inside. Thankfully, the targets of Jake Rayborn’s alleged attack were unharmed because the woman’s new partner had a gun of his own.

According to authorities, Rayborn was already prohibited by law from possessing a gun when he allegedly launched his assault on his ex’s home, but based on the police account it sounds like obeying the law was the last thing on his mind on Wednesday morning.

Police say around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, officers responded to a shooting near a residence on Parktrail Avenue.

During an investigation, detectives learned that the female victim alerted police that her ex-boyfriend, Jake Rayborn, 32, had entered the residence without her permission. Rayborn reportedly gained entry by using a sledgehammer. Once inside the residence, Rayborn gained possession of a gun and started shooting.

The home was occupied by the female victim, her three-year-old son, and her current boyfriend at the time of the shooting. The current boyfriend retaliated with shots, striking Rayborn. Rayborn was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Now Rayborn is facing a number of charges, including attempted first-degree murder, home invasion, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

It’s unclear whether or not Rayborn brought the gun with him or, as WGMB-TV in Baton Rouge reported, “gained possession” of the firearm once he got inside the residence. WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge reports that Rayborn “pulled out a gun,” which suggests that he already had it on his person when he broke through the door of the woman’s home.

Police also report that the woman had taken out an order of protection against Rayborn but he had not yet been served with the order. Regardless of whether or not Rayborn was aware of that order at the time a protective order is only a piece of paper and not a suit of armor, especially if the subject decides to disregard the law. Rayborn didn’t need a judge to tell him not to break into his ex’s home with a sledgehammer and a gun, and I doubt that the order of protection would have dissuaded him from carrying out his alleged attack. At best, if he’d previously been served it would have given prosecutors another charge to file against him after the fact.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad that the woman filed for an order of protection. That was the right thing to do. I’m just even more appreciative of the fact that she and her current boyfriend didn’t rely solely on that piece of paper to protect them.

Now Rayborn is facing far more serious charges than violating a protective order, while the man who shot him isn’t expected to face any charges of his own. After all, he was in a place he had every right to be, and given that Louisiana has the Castle Doctrine in place, he had no duty to retreat before responding to the deadly threat posed by an armed intruder who was shooting at him, his girlfriend, and her child. His decision to exercise his Second Amendment rights saved three lives on Wednesday morning, and he should be commended for his actions in defense of himself and others.