Holly MatkinLithia, FL – A pregnant Florida mother opened fire on two armed suspects who broke into her home and attacked her husband and 11-year-old daughter.
The incident occurred in the 100-block of Old Welcome Road at approximately 9 p.m. on Oct. 30, Spectrum News reported.
Jeremy King said that he was at home with his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and their 11-year-old daughter when the masked attackers broke in, according to Spectrum News.
“As soon as they ripped my back door open, they already had a pistol on me and was grabbing my 11-year-old daughter,” King told the news outlet. “I’m telling them, ‘I have nothing for you,’ and they’re like, ‘Give me everything you got.’ It became real violent, real fast.”
One of the armed intruders began pistol-whipping him, while the other suspect repeatedly kicked him in the head, Spectrum News reported.
King’s pregnant wife was in a back bedroom at the time, but peeked around the corner at one point during the brutal assault.
One of the suspects spotted her, and fired his weapon in her direction.
The woman retrieved her legally-owned AR-15 and returned fire, striking one of the attackers, Spectrum News reported.
“When he came toward the back door in her line of sight, she clipped him,” King explained. “He made it from my back door to roughly 200 feet out in the front ditch before the AR did its thing.”
Deputies later found the wounded suspect dead in a nearby ditch, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The second attacker escaped in a vehicle, and has not yet been apprehended by the authorities.
Police searched for the suspect using K9s and an aviation unit, but it was unclear whether or not his identity was known to the authorities.
King was rushed to a local hospital with multiple injuries.
“I’ve got a fractured eye socket, a fractured sinus cavity, a concussion, 20 stitches, and three staples in my head,” he told Spectrum News. “I took a severe beating.”
Police said that the home invasion was not random, and that they believe the suspects specifically targeted the couple, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
King said he had never met either of the suspects, and that he does not know why they chose to break into his home, according to Spectrum News.
He said he believes he would be dead if his wife hadn’t sprang into action.
“Them guys came in with two normal pistols and my AR stopped it,” King told Spectrum News. “[My wife] evened the playing field and kept them from killing me.”