An Army Veteran Plus a 9mm Handgun Equals a Bad Day for a Robber: 'You Came Real Close to Losing Your Life

Army veteran Mark Sikes (WAGA-TV)

A wheelchair-bound war veteran in Bogart, Ga. was targeted as a robbery victim. Given the fact that he is handicapped, the home burglar may have thought it would be the easiest job of his life.

Wrong.

Army veteran Mark Sikes told WAGA-TV he heard someone breaking down his front door. That's when he pulled his 9mm handgun out of his drawer.

"Next thing I know there's a man standing in the hallway of my house, looking in my bedroom," he said. "I reached and got the gun out of my drawer and kind of raised it up…He took off and ran out the front door."

The vet, who served as a military police officer in Korea, said he didn't think twice about what action to take.

"It's either gonna be me or him. One of us have got to go," he said. "And this is my house, this is my home."

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Athens-Clarke County Police are investigating the incident and looking for the suspect, who Sikes says was wearing all black and possibly had a getaway car waiting for him.

Now Sikes keeps his handgun even closer. In his interview with WAGA-TV, the veteran also told the man who tried to rob him he should be thankful he's still alive.

"Find something else to do besides try to rob people," he said.  "Because you came real close to losing your life yesterday."