A Fresno, California, man may have been without a home, but he certainly wasn’t without a gun.

Paul DeLeon was armed with pepper spray and a handgun and when he saw a 19-year-old woman being beaten by her ex-boyfriend, he didn’t hesitate to spring into action. DeLeon saved the woman, but an hour later was shot in the arm by the same man.

DeLeon watched as the teenage woman was pulled from her car by her ex-boyfriend. When he saw that the confrontation was quickly escalating, he moved in.

“I mean, he was kicking her hard too, right in the head, and I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing,” DeLeon recounted of the event.

DeLeon, who works as a quasi-security guard for local businesses, had a handgun and pepper spray. He chose to use his pepper spray to break up the fight.

“I grabbed my mace and I maced him,” said DeLeon.

The bold move worked and the suspect fled, but not before issuing an ominous threat.

“They drove off and he said something like, ‘I’m going to come back for you,’ and he did,” said DeLeon.

An hour later, the suspect lived up to his promise and returned with a handgun of his own. He exchanged fire with DeLeon and struck him once in the arm before fleeing in a white Lexus.

The gunman is still at large, but police say they have a good idea who he is. Local authorities also commended DeLeon for intervening, but advised that it’s usually best to call 911.

“He probably would’ve killed her,” said DeLeon. “I mean, I have no doubt in my mind he wouldn’t have stopped. She was out of it and he was still kicking her.”

(This article was a submission from freelance writer Brent Rogers)