Crooks break down home's front door in dead of night. But homeowner has a motion sensor — and a gun — just waiting for them.

A quartet of criminals probably figured they'd pull off their heist rather easily, given they gathered in the dead of night — around 3:40 a.m. — last Thursday on the front porch of a Phoenix home near 36th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road.

The crooks had their masks on. Nobody else was around. One pair stood by the door; the other two were a few feet behind and at the ready.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Suddenly one of the crooks kicked in the front door, and the first two fellas began to breach the entrance, according to surveillance video of the incident.

But the home invaders had met their match.

What happened next?

You see, the homeowner's motion sensor linked to the security camera issued an alert, and the homeowner was able to see what was going on outside, AZFamily said.

And the homeowner also prepared another way: by exercising rights found in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. And so, thanks to the few seconds the surveillance system gave the homeowner to get a gun, the crooks were about to say hello to a force they clearly weren't prepared to deal with.

And with that, police said the homeowner fired more than one shot at the suspects after the front door was forced open. The outlet added that detectives believe some of the suspects were armed.

Amid the gunfire, the crooked crew got the message loud and clear that they were not welcome, and they bolted from the porch.

Oops.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

They ran toward a getaway vehicle — a gray four-door sedan, police said — and one of the suspects comically tripped and fell after getting tangled in the legs of his comrade as they all seemed enthusiastic about getting as far away from the hail of bullets as possible.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The suspects got into the vehicle and drove away from the area, AZFamily said.

There was no word on the conditions of their hearts (or their underwear) in the wake of their frantic getaway.

Anything else?

The outlet said police didn't release descriptions of the suspects but hope the video of the break-in will create some leads. AZFamily said that anyone with information is asked to call the Phoenix Police Department or call Silent Witness at either 480-WITNESS (948-6377) or 1-800-343-TIPS (8477). Spanish speakers may call 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) the outlet said, adding that callers can remain anonymous and could earn a reward of up to $1,000.

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