Let’s add it to the list of things not to bring to a gunfight – brass knuckles.

The family of 44-year-old Christopher Dennison is speaking out after he was killed by a homeowner whose home he broke into.

According to WGME,

“He didn’t deserve to die,” said his wife Cherie Thibault. “I know he shouldn’t have did what he did, but he did it for us.”

They say Dennison wasn’t there to kill anyone or steal anything, he was simply hired by a third party to go scare or beat up the homeowner to get him to pay an outstanding debt. Yeah. That’s all.

Also from WGME,

“This guy approached him on going to scare, possibly beat, up, not kill somebody, and he would pay him, and pay him quite a bit of money,” she explained. “I know it’s not legal, it’s not right”

When Dennison went to the home and burst through the front door around 8pm, he was confronted by the homeowner, who was armed. Dennison, wearing a black ski mask at the time, was shot several times by the homeowner. Dennison died of his injuries.

The homeowner’s lawyer says this is a clear cut case of self defense and the homeowner was simply trying to protect himself and his teenage son, who was also home at the time.