A homeowner in Columbia, Missouri shot at a would-be-robber during a home invasion.

Levi Strodman said he always carries his pistol with him while in his home, and it tipped the tables in his favor.

Police officers were called to Strodman’s home around 10 pm on Sunday.

Strodman said his wife had heard a knock at the door.

When he went to check it out, he grabbed his pistol, which he said he always carries in the home.

“It’s kind of taboo but I encourage it, obviously now,” he said.

Strodman noticed something odd almost immediately, although he assumed the neighbor was just having some fun.

When he got to the door, the view through the peephole was obstructed.

That’s when he cracked open the door and an armed man attempted to push his way into Strodman’s home.

“He rushed it and I put force back on him and was able to stop him immediately,” said Strodman. “He was still fighting to make his way through and was gaining ground. Then he presented a pistol.”

Strodman then fired his own pistol twice, scaring away the would-be-intruder before losing his footing and falling down the stairs.

“In this case, I was able to literally save my life and my wife from someone who wished to do us harm,” he said.

Former prosecutor Bill Tackett said it’s a textbook case of Missouri’s castle doctrine and stand your ground in action.

Under castle doctrine, a homeowner, or someone allowed to be in the home like a babysitter, has the legal right to defend themselves using deadly force when faced with a threatening trespasser.

Stand your ground says people no longer have to retreat from danger before shooting in any place where they have a legal right to be.

This situation is also just one more example of a good guy with a gun protecting himself and others with a gun.

“This is the extreme case where someone knocks on your door and points a gun at you and you have both available to you,” said Tackett. “If you want to shoot an intruder, this is your state.”

Tim Oliver, director of Learn to Carry, said a holstered gun is a danger to nobody.

“If that homeowner had not had his firearm with him, it could have turned out a whole lot worse,” he said.

Strodman said he hopes his experience can help others get the tools and training they need to take responsibility for their immediate safety.

“I just can’t recommend enough getting the tools and utilizing something that was given to us even at the foundation of our country,” he said. “The state of Missouri practically encourages us to protect ourselves.”

Strodman says he only saw one perpetrator running away from his home, while a witness claimed there were two assailants.

A K9 was brought in to try to track down the suspects and police are not sure if the suspects were hit by the gunfire.

There was some damage inside the home from the shots being fired, but Strodman and his wife were not seriously hurt, according to police, and it was all because of the presence of a gun.

Article posted with permission from SHTFPlan