An 18-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida man woke up to someone calling his name for help, grabbed his rifle, and came out of his bedroom to find a masked man in full tactical gear and a mask pointing a handgun at his mother.

Without hesitating, Malachi Heilser shot and killed that man, who moments earlier had smashed a window from outside the home Heisler lives in with his mother, teen sister and his mother's boyfriend, according to The Tampa Tribune.

The man Heisler killed – although he said he didn't know it when he shot – was his own father, John Heisler.

Malachi, who hid his face with a bandanna as he spoke to reporters, said he thinks he prevented more people from being hurt that night. His father was arrested earlier in the year for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and Malachi said his mom had a restraining order against him.

John Heisler was reportedly wearing all-black fatigues, a ski mask and thigh holsters when he forced his way into the home.

"I had a feeling that something like this would happen but I didn’t know when,” he told News Channel 8. "“He wasn’t a good dad, no (expletive) father of the year awards."

p5ZHlmcjpOu76U-UeGWCnbGXMha53Fnr

Continue Reading On Complex