An elderly North Carolina man opened fire on three assailants who forced their way into his home, robbed the family, tried to rape his granddaughter and stole his car, reports the Fayetteville Observer.
Kenneth Byrd, 67, was at home in Lumberton, North C., when a man came to the door and said he was having car trouble and needed water.
Byrd invited the man inside and was then  rushed by two other assailants wearing black clothes and ski masks.
The home invaders — all three brandishing handguns — corralled Byrd, his wife Judy, 65, and their 19-year-old granddaughter into the back of the home and demanded the couple open their safe.
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When the men tried to rape the couple's granddaughter, Byrd grabbed a gun and exchanged shots with the assailants, Sheriff Kenneth Sealey said in a news release.
Byrd was wounded during the gunfight and was airlifted to a hospital.
A member of Byrd's family posted an update on his condition on Facebook:
"He is out of surgery but is still critical in ICU!! Thanks everyone for all your prayers just keep them coming!!! But the intruders have been caught!!!" wrote Sherri Bridgeman.
Authorities found Jamie Lee Faison, 20, dead in Byrd’s stolen Cadillac, some six miles from the Byrd residence.
The other two home invaders were identified as Brandon Carver Stephens, 28, and Jamar Hawkins, 17.
Authorities at McLeod Medical Center in Dillon, South Carolina, alerted police when the two sought treatment for bullet wounds.
The three are also linked to several other home invasions in the area.