A father in San Jacinto, California, shot and killed a 45-year-old armed intruder inside his home on Friday night while trying to protect his teenage daughter.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s office said the intruder, identified as Ismael Martinez, broke into the home at around 10:30 p.m.
The encounter began when the individual's wife entered the house to charge her phone and saw Martinez, who had armed himself with a shotgun he found in the home. The intruder allegedly tried to shoot her as she fled into the garage and alerted her husband that someone was in the house.
The father, identified by neighbors as Chris, heard the commotion and rushed into the home to where his daughter was located. Martinez took a shot at Chris, but he returned fire, fatally injuring the assailant. The father evacuated his daughter from the home.
Deputies from the sheriff’s department showed up after receiving a report of assault with a deadly weapon. They found Martinez dead at the scene. They said the break-in was random and that the burglar had no prior connection to the family. Nobody else was harmed during the altercation.
🚨Breaking In: Hero Dad Blasts Armed Home Invader to Save His Teenage Daughter!
— AshleY (@Aku_700) June 9, 2026
In a split-second showdown, a fearless father in San Jacinto grabbed his gun and unleashed hell on an armed intruder who broke into their home—right where his 14-year-old daughter was hiding.… pic.twitter.com/OXtS0wnyg1
So far, no charges have been filed against Chris, but the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case.
It was later revealed that Martinez had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend with a knife less than a mile away earlier in the evening. The family set up a GoFundMe page to help cover expenses for repairs and mental health care.
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It is not clear whether Chris will face charges even though it was a clear case of self-defense. But anti-gun lawmakers in California have been trying to pass a measure that could criminalize those who defend their families as Chris did. Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur introduced a measure last February that would narrow the circumstances under which deadly force could be considered justified self-defense.
The bill would require people to try to de-escalate a situation or flee the scene before using deadly force. Supporters claim the measure would close loopholes allowing aggressors to provoke confrontations and then claim self-defense afterward. But the reality is that California’s government simply wants to criminalize self-defense to make residents more dependent on the state for their protection.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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