Things got a little western in Riverton, Wyoming, over the weekend when an “irrational” and much younger unexpected visitor began beating and kicking on 85-year-old Wayne Williams’s front door. Around 11 p.m. Friday night, Williams heard violent pounding and shouting at his front door so grabbed a .380 he keeps for home defense from his bedroom and went to see what the ruckus was about, he told the  Cowboy State Sentinel.

Once at the door, he opened it, a move he later admitted to the paper probably wasn’t the smartest thing he could have done, because as soon as he did, the intruder, who Williams described as about 25 years old, six inches taller than him and appearing drunk or under the influence of drugs tried to shove his way into the home. Williams attempted to fight him off, first aiming and squeezing the trigger of his handgun only to hear a dull click. He realized then that “he’d forgotten to rack a round into the chamber,” a key reason most firearms instructors urge defensive-minded gun owners who carry or keep their guns safely stored in the home to  always leave their primary self-defense gun loaded and ready to fire.

“You must realize that the most dangerous criminal attacks occur at very close range and happen very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that you simply might not have time to chamber than round and defend yourself,” writes Jim Wilson for NRA Family.

The intruder challenged the senior citizen to shoot him as the two began wrestling. Despite being older than nearly 98 percent of the world population, Williams fought his much younger attacker back out of the door owing to the man’s lack of coordination, the homeowner told the paper. The two tumbled into the yard and as Williams struggled to get to his feet, he managed to cycle a round into the .380’s chamber and fire shot.

Williams said he heard the intruder quip, “I’ve been hit,” before Williams dashed back into his house to call 911.

Dealing with the Law

Williams called 911 and the police soon showed up. As many people who defend themselves are surprised to learn, the police don’t always take what an armed citizen has to say at face value.

“It seemed to Williams they were more concerned initially with him and with his gun than ‘the guy who was attacking me,’” the Cowboy State Sentinel reported Williams as saying. “But he put the gun down and cooperated.”

An ambulance hauled the wounded intruder to the hospital and took Williams to the police station for further questioning while they also apparently went through his home in his absence. He noted the holster he had pulled his .380 from and flung on his bed was gone when he got home.

The newspaper said the Riverton Police Department refused to respond to that claim “citing the active investigation.” They also declined to comment further other than to say, “the incident appeared to be a shooting in response to an attempted burglary.”