A Marion County man was awakened by the sounds of thumping and banging at 4 in the morning outside his back porch on Tuesday.

So he grabbed his .357-caliber Magnum to confront the intruder and protect his home. He shouted to the would-be burglar that he was armed and unafraid to fire.

But the intruder wouldn't heed the warning and kept crawling on the floor in the dark. Then, suddenly, the man was knocked hard into a planter.

When he looked up to see his attacker, instead of seeing a guy wearing a ski mask and gloves, he saw a 200-pound, six-foot alligator snapping its jaws at him.

See also: Palm Beach Man Calls Cops on Son After He Hacks Gator to Death

Alan Abele, 68, told authorities that the gator was charging at him with its jaws open. So Abele pulled the trigger with the gun a mere three inches from the gator's attacking head.

Abele said he ran back into the house, fired at the alligator one more time, and closed the screen door.

He then called the Marion County Sheriff's Office. They sent over the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

While shooting and killing gators is illegal in Florida (like when this guy hacked one to death for no reason), investigators determined that Abele was within his rights to shoot this gator, what with it trying to make him food and all.

Sort of like Stand Your Ground, but with an alligator.

Abele told authorities that he's an avid hunter and wildlife enthusiast and that he felt bad for having to kill the gator. But probably not as bad as he would've felt being breakfast.

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