Dads are protective of their daughters.

It’s not that we don’t think they’re capable of protecting themselves necessarily, there’s just a strange bond between a man and his little girl–and she will always be his little girl no matter how old she is.

And a lot of guys will warn anyone who will listen what will happen to someone who hurts their little girl.

Usually, it’s bluster. They might want to do all that and more, but most will let the police handle it because they figure they can be their for their daughter if they’re in prison.

But one dad clearly wasn’t talking smack.

A southwestern Illinois father shot a male accused of severely beating his daughter earlier this week, police said.

What are the details?

A woman who had been severely beaten showed up at her parents’ home around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, KTVI-TV reported.

Wood River police told the station the woman’s father tracked down the man accused of harming his daughter and shot him in the middle of a street. The shooting took place off North 6th Street by Lewis and Clark Junior High School, police added to KTVI.

As it happens, the two men shot each other, police told the station.

Both were transported to St. Louis-area hospitals — one by ambulance and one by helicopter, police said. Wood River is about a half-hour north of St. Louis.

As it stands, no one has been charged with anything, and I hope that the father escapes charges.

I don’t think that’s going to happen, but I hope that’s the case. You see, while I cannot condone what he did, I can most certainly understand it.

There’s something despicable enough about a man who beats a woman in and of itself. If that woman happens to be your daughter and, well, good sense might just fly out the window.

Understand, though, that if you go looking for trouble, you’re likely to find it.

This dad may well be facing felony charges over this, no matter how righteous we feel he was in hunting this turdnugget down. Even if the other guy somehow drew first–and there are indications that he didn’t–the fact that the father basically hunted him down will likely work against him.

Simply put, it’s unlikely to be considered self-defense when you sought out an altercation with the person in question.

Because I have a fairly decent sized audience, I have to acknowledge that what he did was illegal and that we shouldn’t advocate for anyone doing anything similar. If I don’t, someone might well sue me for doing something stupid and while I’m sure I’d win, lawsuits are expensive and I don’t want to spend the money on a lawyer like that.

So don’t do that.

I might be very understanding if you do it anyway because I’m a father to a little girl as well, but I also know that if you get prosecuted for it, there’s a very good chance you’re deserving of whatever happens.