Thug allegedly stabs 79-year-old man in face amid robbery, home invasion. But victim has a gun — and blows away 22-year-old suspected attacker.

A 22-year-old man allegedly assaulted and stabbed a 79-year-old man amid a robbery and home invasion early Tuesday morning in Elderon, Wisconsin, according to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office.

The elderly victim was stabbed in the face, WAOW-TV reported.

But authorities said the victim had a gun and fired it at the suspect, who was hit in the chest and died while fleeing the scene.

The town of Elderon — population 644 — is about an hour west of Green Bay.

What are the details?

It's believed the suspect followed the victim home from a local establishment then assaulted and stabbed the victim as he exited his vehicle in his garage, authorities said.

But the victim was in possession of a gun and fired one round that struck the suspect, after which the suspect wrestled the gun away from the victim and fled, authorities said.

The suspect received a gunshot wound to the chest and died while fleeing the scene, authorities said, adding that there is no threat to the community.

WAOW reported that the victim initially thought no one was injured and that the handgun was just fired, but the suspect was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest in a vehicle near the residence.

Deputies were dispatched to the residence just after 2:30 a.m., authorities said, adding that the suspect’s identity is being withheld pending family notification.

The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and is recovering at a local hospital, authorities added.

How are folks reacting?

Hundreds of commenters spoke out on the sheriff office's Facebook post about the incident — and they seemed decidedly pleased with the outcome:

• "Play stupid games little punk," one commenter wrote. "Thank you sir & heal fast."
• "Glad he was able to protect himself," another commenter said, adding that "now hopefully the criminal's family [won't] file a wrongful death suit and somehow win, seems likely nowadays."
• "Good for him," another commenter wrote. "This is why people should be allowed to carry firearms — to protect themselves from slime balls like this."
• "This is why [our] elders are still the better generation," another commenter declared.