Armed 65-year-old Florida man fights off intruder in terrifying home invasion

A man in Orlando, Florida, fought back against a violent home intruder on Tuesday morning.

Juan Delgado, 65, told WFTV-TV he heard his dogs continuously barking, so he put on his pants, which had a pistol in the pocket, eventually making his way to the front of his home. There, he found a man waiting for him in his entryway.

According to Delgado, an Army veteran, the man told him he was “looking for a landscaping job” and refused to leave after Delgado told the stranger he wasn’t interested in his services.

“He pushed me to the side, and I’m kind of scared now,” said Delgado, according to WFTV. “He ran inside my house.”

Delgado said he warned the man to leave again, but the man refused and then attacked Delgado.

“He started coming at me, running at me, so I pulled out my gun and I shot him in his legs,” Delgado said. “I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted to stop him. I called the cops.”

Delgado held the intruder at gunpoint until the police arrived.

According to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, “Under Florida law, there is no ‘duty to retreat’ if you are attacked in any place you have a lawful right to be. Instead, you may stand your ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to yourself or others.”

Florida also provides special legal protections to people protecting themselves in their own home, a provision known as the “Castle Doctrine.”