Authorities in Rockford, Michigan are still trying to piece together the details behind a 24-year-old Marine recruiter's alleged attack on an 11-year-old girl last weekend, but they're crediting an armed homeowner with saving her life and the lives of others in the home. 

Police say that Ricardo Perez Castillo actually broke into two homes in Rockford last Saturday. In the first incident, he was confronted by a homeowner in the kitchen who demanded he leave. Castillo did so, but not before reportedly telling the homeowner "he should always be armed." 

Authorities say Castillo then managed to enter another home in a gated community. Once inside, he managed to stab an 11-year-old girl who was sleeping over at a friend's house before he was confronted by the homeowner, who as it happened, did have a gun to defend himself and others in the home. 

Just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, the homeowner called police and said someone was in his daughter's bedroom and the daughter's friend had been cut, a probable cause affidavit details. 

The man said he had the suspect held at gunpoint until police showed up. 

When detectives arrived, they found Castillo with a bloody knife next to him. 

Security video from the home showed Castillo walking into the home and then taking his shoes, socks, and pants off, court docs said. 

Wearing nothing but a T-shirt and underwear, detectives said he grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and walked upstairs. 

He allegedly told investigators his plan was to "break into the house and kill the entire family." 

Castillo allegedly told authorities that he opened the door to the master bedroom and peered inside, but decided he wanted an "easier target." That's when he discovered the two pre-teens sleeping in another bedroom. Police say that Castillo told them he intended to kill one of the girls before sexually assaulting her dead body, and he allegedly stripped off his underwear before climbing on top of the victim and stabbing her. 

When the girls woke up and started screaming, the armed homeowner rushed in and was able to stop Castillo from proceeding any further with his plan, holding him at gunpoint until police arrived on the scene. 

The Kent County Sheriff's Office believes at this point this attack was random. 

"At this point, it appears to be initially random," said KCSO Undersheriff Bryan Muir. "And again, that lengthy part of the investigation will go back more into the details behind how this happened and why it happened at this residence. But at this point, we don't have any connection to lead the subject that was responsible for the assault to this residence."

Following the incident, Muir urged people in the region to take all precautions to protect themselves and their homes.

"Even though you live in a safe community here in West Michigan, you know, get to a nightly routine," Muir said. "Lock your doors, lock your cars, just double check windows, make sure that your home is as safe as possible. This was a completely random act from what we believe right now, and these things don't happen very often, but they can. So, we just ask for you to do everything you can on your part to keep yourself safe."

Notice anything missing from Muir's statement? While every tip he offered is good advice (and common sense), he completely ignored the factor that prevented Castillo from carrying out his alleged plan to kill every member of the family: an armed citizen who was prepared to shoot the intruder to stop him from continuing his assault on a little girl. 

Yes, it's a good idea to keep your doors and windows locked, but doors can be broken and windows can be shattered. Unless you live in a fortress, a committed criminal will likely be able to find their way inside, even if they have to climb over broken glass to do so. Doing everything you can do to keep yourself safe also means having a plan to deal with a violent intruder once they've breached the sanctity of your home, and thankfully in this case the homeowner's security plan involved exercising his Second Amendment rights. 

Castillo is currently behind bars on $2-million bail and facing a litany of felony charges. The victim, at last report, was stable, and doesn't appear to have suffered any life-threatening injuries, though the physical and emotional scars will undoubtedly linger for years. This was an absolutely awful situation, but it would have been so much worse if the homeowner had been unarmed and unable to stop the attack before the suspect did any more damage.