Texans Are Still Armed

At least this guy was smart enough that he didn't get shot. You could also file this under, "Don't bring a (really big) knife to a gunfight." VIDEO: Man with machete attempts to break into home; homeowner confronts him with gun | FOX 7 Austin

He was in his back yard, talking to a contractor, when he saw a guy with a machete approaching.

"At that moment, I obviously freaked out. I have two young children here in the house and just went into complete fight or flight mode," [Darryl] Stevens said.

The man gets up, comes up the stairs, and pulls on the door.

"I start running through the house. I lock every door as fast as possible, run upstairs. Luckily, I had a firearm here, so I grabbed my 9mm, unlocked it, ran down as fast as possible," Stevens said.

At that point the guy had climbed to an upper deck. The homeowner pointed his firearm at him, and told him to leave or lose his life.

These guys are usually not smart enough to leave, but this guy was at least that smart.

The video then shows the intruder climbing back down, and a gun pointing at him as he walks away.

Cops arrived and arrested him. 911 had been called by Mrs. Stevens.

Deputies arrested 43-year-old Jerry Escamilla of Bertram. He is charged with criminal trespassing and failure to identify and is being held on a $10,000 bond.

Liberty Hill, Texas is roughly a 35 mile drive north of Austin.

No one was shot. No one was killed. No shots were fired. But the presence of a legally-owned firearm made a big difference in the life of the Stevens family that day.

If you watch the video, which I recommend since it is only a few minutes long, you will see that Darryl Stevens thought he was protected by his zip code. No one is protected by their zip code, not even you. (Hat tip to Colion Noir)