It’s a terrifying scenario that I think most of us have run through a time or two. A sudden, violent entrance into our home, the place where we find peace and solitude with our families. Our castle.

The situation probably gets wargamed by almost every gun owner from time to time. We run through the scenario and what we would do, praying we’d never have to use it.

For one Dallas homeowner, however, the nightmare became reality.

A man that police believe intended to rob a Lake Highlands home was shot early Monday morning.

It happened in the 9500 block of Moss Farm Lane near Abrams Road and Royal Lane.

The homeowner said the man first rang his doorbell around 5 a.m. He apologized for being at the wrong home and left.

A few minutes later the man came back, kicked in the door and forced his way inside. But the homeowner had a gun and opened fire, police said.

Neighbors said they heard about a half a dozen shots. When responding officers arrived they found the wounded suspect in the street. The suspect was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He is expected to survive, police said.

The homeowner and his wife were reportedly unhurt and are cooperating with investigators, which is to be expected. After all, it rarely gets to be a more clear case of self-defense than that. I mean, the suspect reportedly knew the house was occupied, yet busted the door in just the same. It’s not an unreasonable assumption to believe that he allegedly entered that home with harmful intent.

And he was shot for his troubles.

Now, he gets to recover from his wounds and contemplate his life choices that led him to get shot in some stranger’s house simply because he apparently thought he had the right to bust into someone else’s home. If he’s smart, he’ll realize he’s fortunate to be alive and seek the path of redemption.

Of course, even if he doesn’t immediately choose that path, he’ll probably have a nice stretch in prison for such self-examination.

For the homeowner, I’m just glad he had a firearm and the will to use it at a critical time. Otherwise, this story could have a much more tragic ending with news in Dallas about the horrible crime at a Lake Highlands home.

This is why private citizens need guns. They’re equalizers. They give us the means to defend ourselves against determined, aggressive attackers who already have the advantage of initiative. They get to pick and choose when a violent confrontation will happen. They are the aggressors, and they have the edge. If we have a firearm, we can at least have a fighting chance.

But there are those who would see us completely disarmed, helpless against such naked aggression.

Um…no thanks.

Congratulations on the homeowner for protecting himself and his wife. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, and I’m sure he’ll have to work through what happened despite the positive outcome. The important thing to remember is that he and his wife are still here to work through it.