Contrary to popular belief guns can actually save lives. That’s the lesson we can learn from a recent armed abduction that left one perpetrator dead and another wounded.

Had a husband and wife from St. Louis not had firearms in their home then things could have gone much differently Monday night, reports the St. Louis Dispatch.

According to police, when the couple’s 17-year old daughter stepped outside of their front door to retrieve something from her car she was approached by two armed men wearing masks. Later identified as Terrell Johnson, 31, and Cortez McClinton, 33, the men pointed a gun to the teen’s head and made their way to the front door using her as a human shield.

The girl’s mother and father both witnessed the abduction and immediately retrieved their firearms. Without negotiation or hesitation the father fired several shots at the attackers as they entered the home, striking both of them.

Things didn’t end well for Terrell Johnson, who quickly collapsed in the living room and was pronounced dead at the scene.

His partner, Cortez McClinton, who reportedly had an impressive rap sheet and had been previously charged with murder, was wounded but got away. His brother transported him to a hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the chest and both of his legs. He was later arrested by police and has been charged with second-degree murder (felony murder), kidnapping, burglary and armed criminal action. He is currently being held on a $1 million bond.

As the debate over gun violence in America rages on, with gun owners often being painted as lunatics and extremists, it’s stories like these that further reinforce the need for Second Amendment rights for law abiding American citizens. Had this household not been armed there could well be a murdered family of four in St. Louis (there was reportedly a 5-year old child in the living room at the time the incident occurred). Moreover, the two men who perpetrated this crime would still be on the streets stealing, robbing, and murdering other innocent victims.

Instead, the world is a safer place and all because these homeowners chose not to be victims of the random violence that has taken the lives of so many others who had no way to defend themselves when confronted by gun wielding criminals.